His Betrayers' Daughter
by hisdarkprincess
Summary: Morgan's dreams tell her and her fathers' story. Up until now her dreams were just stories she told her friends. But when one was repeated she knew he had returned.
1. The Dream

Chapter One

The Dream

He was always there, there in her dreams. There was never a night when she didn't dream about him.

They never really frightened her like they did her friends.

Every night they were different. One was never repeated…except tonight. This one seemed familiar. She'd seen it before, but not as a dream. No, it was his story.

* * *

She was meeting her friends later at Starbucks. As she did every morning.

The dream was still playing in her head as she left her tiny apartment.

The streets were fairly busy for 11:30 in New York City. This caused her to be late. But it didn't really matter, because she lived closest to the Starbucks, and she was always the first one there. (even if she is late)

Feri was the second to arrive, followed by Tiff and Ashley, who are roommates.

Starbucks was deserted. They ordered their drinks and sat down.

She dreaded this moment, because every day they met and every day they asked her to share lat night's dream.

"So Morgan, what's the story for today?" Tiff was always the first to ask this question. She loved listening to Morgan's dreams.

'_Here we go'_ she thought. "O.k. It took place in biblical times. I know this for a fact because Jesus was on the cross. Everyone who had watched him be crucified had already left the scene except for one man. He was knelt at the foot of the cross, holding a money pouch, crying. I called out to him but that just made him get up and hurry off.

"Later that day I saw him yet again. Except this time he was walking through town with a coil of rope. I followed him from a distance. He traveled all the way to the other side of town, and reached a small hill with a large tree. There he tied one end of the rope to a low branch. The branch was just a little higher than he was tall. Then he knotted the other end into a loop.

"I knew what was going to happen, I knew it. But for some reason I couldn't turn away. Then I heard the rope tighten under his weight. It was a horrible sight, watching a man hang himself. I couldn't bear it any more and ran off through the town. And then I woke up. But I could have sworn I'd seen him somewhere before. He resembled the usual guy in my dreams yet he was very different.

And for a change Tiff said, "unusual."

Ashley said, "different."

And Feri exclaimed, "brilliant." Then pulled out her note pad to jot something down. No doubt ideas she had gotten, from Morgan's tale, for a story.

"I think I know that man."

"How could you know that man?" Ashley asked. "Remember your dream took place in biblical times. Gosh, you know you weren't alive then."

" I know. I've just seen him somewhere before."

"Yeah someone around here is bound to look like a guy who hung himself 1000 years ago," Feri said sarcastically.

"Well there could easily be someone around here who might look like him. There's bound to be. Come on we live in New York City. There is a very big possibility someone around here looks like him," Tiff said with anguish.

"Tiff's right ya know," Ashley said. "There could easily have been some gut that you passed on the streets that could have looked like him. So let's just drop the subject."

* * *

Morgan had a very long day at Macy's, where she works. She couldn't get the dream out of her head.

When she got home, she ate some cold Chinese leftovers before going straight to bed. Where of course she dreamed.

This time when she got up, she hurried to get to Starbucks. Because now she really need to talk to her friends about her dream.

When they had all arrived, they ordered their drinks then sat down. But before Tiff could ask the details of last night's dream Morgan whispered blankly, "I had the same dream."


	2. State of Shock

Chapter Two

State of Shock

"What do you mean you had the same dream?" Feri asked blankly.

"I mean that the story I told you yesterday is the same as the one today."

Ashley, Tiff and Feri just sat there trying to believe what they had just heard. She had had the same dream two times in a row. Impossible, she never had the same dream two times in a row. Yet it is possible, for it finally happened. They were in shock.

Finally Morgan broke the silence. "He'll come for me." She didn't mean to say this aloud, but more to herself.

"What? What do you mean 'he'll come for you'? Who are you talking about?" Tiff asked; now very confused.

"I'm sorry I have to go."

Ashley began to say something but Morgan interrupted "I can't explain right now. Bye."

After their friend had left Ashley spoke up. "What is wrong with her? She is kind of scaring me."

"Me too," exclaimed Tiff.

"Me three," Feri said. "Maybe we should investigate? Ashley your clearly the closest to her so you should see if you can get her to tell you anything. K?"

"K. Sounds great. I think I'm gonna' go I'll talk to you guy tomorrow. See ya at home Tiff."


	3. The Effect

Chapter Three

The Effect

Morgan hurried off to her apartment.

She had to figure out a way to hide from him. If he knew she had completely hidden her true identity he would be **so** pissed off.

How could she hide from him?

She could just act normal. He probably couldn't smell a difference anymore, because it had been so long since she was her true self. It had been almost one hundred years, literally.

There was a knock on the door, which startled her. What if it was him? She reached out shakily for the handle, and slowly turned the knob. She gasped. It was only Ashley.

"Are you all right? You look scared to death."

"I thought it might me someone else."

"Who else could it be? You only really hang out with me, Tiff and Feri."

"I thought it was going to be someone I was dreading to see."

Morgan's eyes got real cloudy; _she was traveling through the sky when a plane appeared. She went right thru the pilot's compartment and stopped in front of a man. It was him. Where was he going?_

_Then a stewardess got on the intercom, "We have about half an hour left before we reach New York City. There will be some slight turbulence but nothing to worry about."_

_He was on his way to New York. He had found out where she lived, but how?_

"Morgan, snap out of it." Ashley was shaking her very roughly. "Morgan? MORGAN?"

Her eyes cleared and she looked at Ashley in wonder. "Stop! Why are you shaking me?"

"Oh god, thank you." She hugged Morgan so tight that she couldn't breathe.

"What is wrong?" Morgan was very confused.

"Your eyes got all cloudy and then after a minute you started saying 'No…no…no he's coming t-to New York.' Who is he and, if this is about the same guy that is in your dreams, why does he scare you so much now?"

"Ashley I have to tell you some things."


	4. Proof

Chapter Four

Proof

"The last thing I tell you, you have to believe me. Promise me you'll believe me."

Confusedly Ashley answered, "I promise?"

"k. About what just happened to me. I had a vision…"

"A vision. What?"

"Stop interrupting. Yes, a vision. The man in my dreams is real and I know him."

"How in the hell. How do you know this man? I am so confused."

"I can't explain how I know him right now or how it is even possible, but the thing is he is coming to New York because of me. He is after me."

"k? I'm kinda' freaked out now, but tell me what else you have to tell me. I'm prepared and I promise I will…believe you."

"Ashley this is a very important secret and you cannot tell anyone or you risk my life." She paused. Then continued: "I'm…a…Nosferatu. Also know as a vampire."

Ashley started laughing, "What? You're a vampire. I'm sorry but I just can't believe it. That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard."

"You have to believe me. If you don't I can prove it to you, but I really don't know if I should. It might make it easier for him to find me."

"If you can prove yourself please do because I'm not convinced that you're a vampire."

"k, here I go." Her eyes changed quickly from deep brown encircled by white, to just pure crimson red. And her I-teeth pointed then grew about a half an inch longer into fangs. She now looked like a vampire. Then just as quickly as she had transformed she was back to normal. Her eyes were once again deep brown encircled by white and her I-teeth short and straight instead of pointed.

Ashley had fallen over in fright and Morgan was trying to help her up but she refused to take her hand. "Ashley take my hand. I won't hurt you I promise. I haven't…how should I say this…I haven't…fed myself for almost one hundred years. I swear I won't hurt you. Trust me."

Ashley reluctantly took Morgan's hand and stood. "I'm… sorry I d-didn't…believe you."

"It's perfectly fine. I just need you to keep quite about it and help keep me protected. You must. I told you because I trust you the most out of all my friends. Can you help me?"

"Yes, of course. Ho long do we have?"

"Well in my vision there was a half an hour till they reached New York. And it takes about 20 minutes to get here from the airport so we probably have about 25 minutes. What are we going to do?"

"The first thing is what are his weaknesses?"


	5. Unwanted Company

Chapter Five

Unwanted Company

"Your going to help me?"

"Yeah. I promised didn't I?"

"True, but still I figured-"

Ashley cut her off, "We don't have time. Once again, what are his weaknesses?"

Reluctantly Morgan answered her, "You know regular vampire weaknesses, Christian things. And silver of course."

"Figures. But I never understood the silver thing".

"Well That's personal. I'll explain later," she said desperatly.

"Right. How much time do we have left."

"Well it's been 20 minutes, so he could be here any moment." As she finished the sentence there came a knock on the door. She peered through the peep hole, "It's him."

She rushed to her friend's side, and grabbed her arm. "Be prepared for a jolt." Within seconds they went from standing in the middle of Morgan's living room to infront of Ashley's apartment door.

"H-h-ow did y-you do th-that?" Ashley asked; obviously very confused.

"It's this whole powers thing I have. I'll explain later. Just get inside."

When they walked in they were greeted by Tiff, "Hey you guys! What are you doing here?"

"Hiding," Ashley said; getting a big sush from Morgan in return.

"What? Hiding? From who?" Tiff asked; very confused.

Morgan very quietly answer her, "My father."

"What?" They both asked in unison.

Then Ashley continued, "We're hiding from your father? Why? He's your fahza."

"Ashley! There's no time for joking. Like I was saying he's not just my father he's Vladimir. You know, Vladimir the impaler?" Ashley and Tiff look at her cluelessly. "Vlaidimir the Impaler. Also known as Count Dracula."

Ashley gasped as Tiff asked, "So your father's a-a vampire."

"Yeah. And so am I. Surprise," she said with a very faulty laugh.

Shocked; Tiff just stared at Morgan for a moment, then glanced at Ashley who was smirking inscesently, "You know don't you? How long have you known? Ashley, how long have you known? TELL ME?" She screamed.

"Tiff! She hasn't even known half an hour," Morgan said; sticking up for Ashley.

"Morgan you stay out of this," Tiff snapped.

"NO TIFFANY! I DON'T HAVE TO STAY OUT THIS CUZ' YOU FIGHTING OVER ME!"

But Tiff and Ashley were too into their argument to pay attention to her.

"I didn't want to have to do this but since you won't listen to me I have no choice," Morgan said to herself.

All of a sudden both, Tiff and Ashley, were hovering about 7 feet above the ground and were screaming, (a/n: Tiff and Ashleys' town house has high ceilings). Then they just dropped, landing with a thud on the wooden floors.

"Hey? What just happened?" Tiff asked; sounding shaken.

"You guys weren't listening to me so I intervened to get your attention."

"Dude! You did that?" An amazed Ashley asked.

"Yeah! See," she lifted off the ground, hovered, then...

KNOCK KNOCK

Tiff and Ashley gasped and then looked around the room trying to figure out where Morgan had gone; she had dissapeared.

"Morgan? Where are you?" Ashley called out quietly.

Then they heard a voice, "I'm infront of the door. Now shh." She glanced out of the peep hole, IT WAS HIM! She gasped.

"What?" Ashley and Tiff asked in unison.

She reappeared in between the two of them making them both jump. "It's him! It's him! My father! It's...Dracula"

"Oh My Gosh what are we gonna do?" Ashley squeaked.

"Okay, here's the plan," Morgan began, when another set of knocking rapped on the door. She continued, "I'm your dog. My names' Meggie and I'm a Toy Poodle. Got it"

"Think so. But how are we going to pull that off?" Ashley asked.

"We don't have a dog," Tiff added.

"I'm a vampire, remember? I can transform. See," one moment she was Morgan the vampire and the next she was "Meggie" their Toy Poodle.

_'I hope this works,'_ Morgan thought.

Ashley walked up to the door and grabbed the handle.

KNOCK KNOCK

_'Damn he's bull-headded,'_ Ashley thought.

As she opened the door a strange sensation fell upon the room. Too bad Morgan was the only one who really sensed it.

He walked right in. He was dressed in black boots, black pants and a black shirt. and on top of that he also wore a black trenchcoat. He had black, curly, chin-length hair and crimson eyes. Ashley could definately tell that he and Morgan were related.

Tiffany, who had moved to the couch, said, "Sir? May we help you?"


	6. Captured

**HEY**

**how are my ppl? i am grand and i hope you are too. this story is totally going good. i luv it so much. it and Erik's Big Secret are probably my 2 best stories. !YAY! Well i'm going to type so i don't lose my ideas.**

**R/R**

**AND**

**ENJOY**

**hisdarkprincess**

* * *

Chapter Six

Captured

"I'm here for Morgan," he said, a very eerie tone in his voice. As he spoke Ashley and Tiffany both noticed his very pointed I-teeth.

"Meggie" noticed them too. _'Damn. hopefully he doesn't try to use them,' _she thought.

"Umm, sir? We don't know a Morgan," Ashley said. But this comment didn't help, he saw right through her deception.

"Of course you do," he replied. And then he walked up to "Meggie" and said, "She's right here."

After that comment Morgan quickly transformed back to her original being, "Why you gotta be like that?"

"Like--what?" he replied.

"You show up, uninvited, in which threatens my life, my friends lives and your life. And then for some reason you can see right through my disguise. How in the hell did you know it was me in that dog disguise?"

"By how you smell." he said with a smirk, taking in a big whiff of her scent. "You still smell very much like a vampire, my princess."

"Well how did you get here? It's still daylight outside."

"When I left England, it was dark. And I then materialized from the airport to your apartment, which you fled. Then from your apartment to here. As you can see I'm not that stupid."

Tiffany piped up, "Well if you materialized here why did you have to take a plane?"

"That is a very good question my dear," he said walking towards Tiffany, reaching out his hand for hers.

"Don't, Touch, Her," Morgan said, steping between her friends and her father before Tiffany had the chance toreact to his offer.

"Why do you not allow me to touch her?" he asked, sounding hurt.

"You may be my father, butI still do not trust you with humans. Especially my friends."

"That hurts my feelings." he paused. "Wait. You haven't bitten them yet?"

"What do you mean by yet?" Ashley said, finally getting her voice back.

"She was supposed to bite all the humans she could," he said, pushing Morgan to the side so he could look Ashley directly in the eyes. "But it looks like she betrayed me." He spun around and backslapped Morgan as hard as he could, sending her flying into the wall on the opposite side of the room.

She slowly arose from the floor. "How, Dare, You, Touch, Me!" she screamed running straight at him. Then quickly she slammed on the brakes. "What are you doing?" she asked, fear in her tone.

He had pulled Ashley infront of him and pointed an abnormally sharp pinky finger nail at her throat. **(if you haven't seen Darcula 2000, he cuts his neck open with his pinky finger nail (so...Yea! Its a dangerous weapon))**

"If you take one step closer, I will slit her throat."

"Daddy, what do you think you are doing?" she asked.

"I'm going to do what you won't," he replied, but it didn't phase her.

"Why are you so stuck on me not following your orders?" she took a step foward. She was about 4 meters away from him. _'If only I could get closer,'_ she thought.

"I saw that step. Don't think I didn't see that step."

"Daddy, just let her go and we can talk about this," she said, pertinently. She took another step, this time bigger then the last.

"No!" he yelled.

"Now Daddy, please," she pouted. She took another step. "At least drop your hand. PWEASE?"

Slowly he lowered his hand.

At that moment, she charged him . . .

POOF

He was gone, leaving Tiff and Morgan alone in the room.

"Damn. He materialized," she said, very angrily.

"What are we going to do about Ashley?" Tiff asaked, worriedly.

"Fear for her life."

* * *

**i totally hope you ppl like. i know its kinda short. i couldn't help it. you find out what happens to Ashley in the one of the next two chappies. i think u guys are going to totally luv it. i hope so. well i luv ya my ppl, ENJOY!**

**hisdarkprincess**


	7. Where Has He Taken Me?

Chapter Seven

Were Has He Taken Me?

**Ashley's POV**

I remember landing on my ass really hard, and then I passed out for like 2 hours. When I woke up, he was in front of me, pacing. He didn't notice me wake so I listened to him talking to himself...or so it seemed. Little did I know there was another visitor standing right behind me.

* * *

**Still Ashley's POV**

"I don't know what to do?" he contemplated softly. "I took her and now I regret that decission. All I wanted to do was get closer to my daughter, and now she is going to want to kill me, because I kidnapped her best friend."

I though he was just talking to himself, until I heard a voice reply. "You should be more careful of your captives Vladimir. She has awoken." her voice was as eerie as his, she was deffinately a vampire like him.

He reached down, grabbed me by the arm and pulled me to my feet. "Well why didn't you tell me you were awake, my dear?" he asked, kindly, which creeped me out alot. He continued, "I would like to introduce you to a friend of mine," he pointed to the woman vampire, "this is Mary Heller."

"Hello dear," she said, with a very pointed smile. She reached out to shake my hand, and I just stood there, not sure of how to react. "Dear, I believe it is common courtesy to exchange a handshake when meeting someone new. So..." Hesitantly I took her by the hand. And almost as fast as I grabbed her hand, I dropped it.

_'Where have I heard the name Mary Heller before?' I thought._ I knew, that I knew, that name I just couldn't remember exactly how and when I had heard it. As I pondered, I look deep into her eyes, the same pure crimson as Morgan's and her father's.

THEN IT HIT ME! Mary Heller. I knew exactly who she was. I used to live next to her when I was much younger. She killed her best friend, Lucy Westerna, and then disappered and no one ever saw he again...until now. Wouldn't this be a story for my mom.

Finally I came back to reality. And I realized that we had materialized somewhere new. We went from a very boring, what looked like a cheep motel room, to the worse place of all when with two vampires, _a cemetery._

Now, Mary. I beleive you know Ashley? So I am going to goand retrieve my daughter and her little friend, and youtwo can stay here and catch up." After he said this, he turned his back on us and with a small puff of smoke he was gone.


	8. The talk with his Daughter

Chapter Eight

The talk with his Daughter

He appered in front of her friends' apartment door once more and knocked gently.

Morgan saw it was him and threw open the door and started yelling at him, "What do you think you are doing here? Do think it is wise to show your face here right now?" then she paused and looked around the hallway. "Where is Ashley?" she walked over to the couch and sat down, he followed her, and stood behind her. "You didn't dispose of her, did you?"

"No, of course not. Even though she is not a vampire, I would never hurt one of your friends."

"Oh yeah? Were was that rule 600 years ago. Remember, in Russia, I had another non-vampire friend. I'm sure you would remember Sasha. You said that exact same thing. But when you saw him and he was all by himself you go and you try to make him join us. But did he know about me being a vampire? NO! So you kill him. He was my first true friend. And the bad thing was, I was going to tell him and ask him if he wanted to join us. But NO, you had to take matters into your own hands. And that pisses me off Vladimir." He tried to make a comment but she wouldn't let him speak. "NO you will not talk until I am finished. Now also, do you remember in Germany, about 350 years ago? Probably, because you seemed so proud of yourself then. You had a new wife and then she got killed. And you were so depressed, like you always are when you loose one of your hundreds of wives. But this one seemed so special to you. And I know why. Becuase you felt bad for killing my best friend. I'm am sure you still remember her name too. Well?"

"Her name was...Mina." he said, with a depressing sigh.

"Exactly. And you were only depressed about that, because a second friend of mine had died under your fault. And then I still have two more people we haven't talked about yet."

"Please don't continue. I get the point."

"No, I don't think you do. And besides Tiffany deserves to hear this too, since it is also her friends' live who is at stake here. Now lets continue. Oh yeah, remember this is what made me decide to forget all about you, it was the last straw. About 120 years ago in Japan? And I am so positive that you still know their names too. They were?"

"Yes I do still remember. Their names were...Kioko, she was very kind to me. And then there was also, Akira. He was very weary of me."

"And for good reason too. And he almost killed you in the process of you killing his sister. And the only reason you killed them, was because they figured it out themselves. They figured out what I was and who you were. So you offered them a place with us and they denied you, so you killed them, so they wouldn't spread your secret. But what you didn't know, was that they had already talked to me and told me that they would take our secrets to their graves. But since you have to always take matters into your own hands,you killed them for no good reason. So don't say that you would never hurt my friends wether they are vampires or not. Because that is a straight out lie." She glared at him as she tried to catch her breath.

Then all of a sudden he went from looking depressed and sorry to his normal self, very cocky and deceptive. "Oh Morgan. Are you okay? You look absolutly famished. Because I believe you said you haven't fed for over a hundred years. Am I correct? or am I correct?"

"That is true. I am so... Wait you will not get me that easily." she screamed. "Tiffany don't listen to him. If he can't get me, he'll try for you." but she was too late. Tiffany had already started walking towards him. She reached for her friend's arm to pull her back. But he rushed at her, and punched her hard in the face, sending her to the floor, nose bleeding. He then grabbed Tiff's arm and with a small puff of smoke they were gone.

"Damn. He got another one. Now it's time to call in back-up!" she said quietly, to helself. Then she let out a loud, but silent screech.


	9. They arrive and the truth is Told

Chapter Nine

They arrive and the truth is Told

Moments later, with a puff of smoke, three people appeared. "Oh you guys!" she said, as she hugged each one of them.

"Oh, Levi! Kris! Sasha!" She hugged them all again. "It is so good to see you all again!"

"We haven't talked in so long. I was afraid someone finally did you in." Levi said. "I missed you," and he hugged her. **(a/n: Morgan, Levi, Kris& Sashawere all really close friends. and she hasn't talked to eeny of them for like 200-300 years. so... they r all really happee to see each other(so they all hug alot (srry)))**

"Morgan. Long timeno see,"Sasha replied, and he hugged her also.

Then Kris **(a/n: yes, Kris, is a girl) **walked up to her and kissed her once on each cheek, and said, "I was going to look for you, but I had to go into hiding. I had a slayer on my trail. I was so happy when I heard you call. I finally got to leave that same damn room 15 years later." she stopped and looked at her friend carefully. "Morgan, you look absolutely famished. When was the last time you ate anything?"

"It has been about 100 years, since I last had a suitable meal." She replied, wearily. "And I think it is finally starting to take a toll on me. I have used too many of my powers in one night for someone who has only drank small amounts of their own blood over the past hundred years." she sat down shakily.Sasha walked up to her, got down on his knees and exposed his neck, "I don't know why you called us here tonight, but I know we won't find out unless you revive yourself." He looked up at her, "Just don't drink too much."

"Thank you Sasha!" she smiled at him. "Your a life saver, literally." Then moments later, her fangs sunk into the soft flesh of his neck. A few minutes later, she pulled away, a drop of blood running down her chin. She then spoke, "Mmmmmmmmm... delicious. I never realized you tasted so good. Not even the day I bit you for the first time." She paused, remembering the past. "Sorry, I was thinking. Now where were we?"

"You're going to tells us why you called." Levi said.

"Oh, yea! I am _so_ mad at him."

"At who?"Kris asked.

"My father! Who else do you expect? Once again he has taken two of my non-vamp friends hostage. He is probably going to kill them, too." she paused, as a tear slid down her cheek. Levi sat down next to her and wrapped his arms around her in a comforting manner. She leaned into the crook of his neck and began sobbing.

"How can he keep doing this?" Levi asked out loud. "Hasn't he tortured you enough doing the same thing with four of your other non-vamp friends?"

"He can never be satisfied. You know that Levi,"Sasha said.

"I know. But you'd think it would be different with his own daughter. You'd actually think he'd care about her feelings. And not want to make her cry, and hate his guts!" He said angrily.

"He has no heart. Everybody knows that,"Kris brought up.

Morgan, finally lifted up her head, and replied, defending her father, "Well he used too. But that was over sixteen-hundredyears ago. When I was little and my mom was still alive. Before he was Dracula. Then he was still Judas. Judas Iscariot." Remembering her father, how he used to be before Dracula, made her return her head to the crook of Levi's neck and begin crying again. Levi patted her gently on the back.

Finally, after a long while, Morgan had cried herself to sleep in Levi's arms. He gently picked her up and carried her to the closest bedroom, and laid her down to sleep. Then he returned to the living room where the others were waiting. "She'll be asleep for a while. So lets try to put together a sensible plan while she sleeps. And we can tell it to her tomorrow when she wakes up, to see if she likes it. So...Shall we?"


	10. A New Vampire Added To The Group

Chapter Ten

A New Vampire Added To The Group

She woke up with a jump, surprised to be in a bedroom at Ashley's. She remembered falling asleep in Levi's arms crying. _'Oh well, he must have moved me intothis room afterI fell asleep,' she thought._ She paused and listened. She heard the whispers of her friends. She smiled, got up and walked into the main room, where her friends were conversing.

"Oh, Morgan. I'm so happy you're finally awake!" Kris said very excitedly, sounding almost relieved.

Sasha was the next to talk, "We've been working on a plan."

'OoO, I want to hear." She exclaimed. And so they all sat down and explained it to her.

* * *

He appeared in the cemetery, and so Ashley and Mary ceased talking to each other, and Mary spoke to him. "Where is she? I though that you were going to get her and bring her back?"

"She wouldn't listen," he said eerily. "So I took her friend." as he said that he stepped to the side to reveal a very scared Tiffany.

"You BASTARD!" Ashley yelled.

"Just for that, I'll kill her in front of you." he leaned down towards Tiff's throat, fangs barred when...

"Wait!" Ashley yelled. "Don't kill her. Take me instead." she said quietly, dropping her head.

He placed his hand under her chin and pulled her head up so she looked him in the eyes. "You know what, Mary? I think this one would make a great addition to the family, don't you?"

"Yes,I think she would, Vladimir. She obviously loves her friends more than her own life. So why kill her, when you can condemn her? Honestly!"

"Well then lets give her the choice." He pushed her away and she turned to face him. "So what will you choose?" he asked. "Death or a quick bite on the neck?"

"Neither!" she said, almost screaming it. "I'd rather just live, but I kinda figured it wouldn't be a choice. So what ever. I don't care anymore."

"So you wouldn't care ifI decided to kill you?" he asked.

"No. Cuz' dying is quicker," she said dryly.

"Well then, hmmmm... I choose a quick bit on the neck." He reached out his hand for hers and turned on his "magic." But nothing happened. she just stood there looking at him.

"Well are you going to bite me or not?"

"Well, you have to take my hand first."

"Why?" she asked.

"It's just how I work. So just take my hand already!"

"FINE!" and she grabbed his hand.

And in a split second he drew her close to him and sank his fangs into the soft flesh of her neck. She gasped. And once he was finished he laid her down gently on the ground, and sat next to her, awaiting her waking.

* * *

**+back with Morgan and her friends+**

"WOW! That sounds great! How long..." she stopped in mid-sentence, which worried her friends.

"Morgan? Are you okay? Morgan?" Sasha said, almost yelling at her.

Kris walked over and sat down next to her, shaking her gently saying, "Morgan are you okay?" she paused to see if she could get a reaction. When there was no response, she turned Morgan's face towards hers. Her eyes were cloudy.

"What's wrong with her?" Levi asked. "I've never seen her act like this before."

**XxX**

_She was in a graveyard, and then she saw four people, Vladimir, Mary Heller, Tiffany and Ashley. But it was weirdbecause Mary was standing behind Vladimir, who was sitting next to Tiffany. And Tiffany was...she was...crying over a body. Ashley's body. SHE WAS DEAD!_

**XxX**

Her eyes were no longer cloudy, but filled with tears. She fell to her knees, and began sobbing like crazy.

Sasha also fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around her in a comforting hug, and asked, "Morgan, what happened? You scared us half to death."

Between sobs she managed to say, "I'm too late. It happened. And I saw it through a vision."

"You had a vision?" Levi asked.

"Yea. This is the second oneI have had in three days," she said, still crying.

"Morgan, can you tell us what happened?" asked Sasha, now releasing her and helping her to sit on the couch.

"Sure." she paused to dry her eyes. "I was in a graveyard and I saw him sitting next to Ashley's body and Tiffany was sitting next to her crying. And then Mary was standing behind him. After that, I came back to reality."

"Who is this Mary?" Sasha asked.

"Mary Heller." Morgan answered.

"So you mean once again he has killed one of your non-vamp friends?" Kris asked.

Yes...once again."

KNOCK KNOCK

She whispered to her friends, "Become invisible until I know who it is." After she said this it went from four people in the roomto just one.

She approached the door and looked through the peep hole. IT WAS FERI!

She quickly opened the door, pulled her friend inside, and slammed the door behind her.

"What are you doing here?" Morgan asked.

"I went looking for you guys cuz' youdidn't show up for coffee this morning." she paused, and looked around. "Where are Ashley and Tiff?"

"Just a sec. You guys, its okay."

"Who are you talking too?" she said looking around, and seeing...seeing four other people walking towards them. "Who are they?" she asked, a little freaked out.

"They're my friends. And there here to help me. But first you'll have to understand why. Sit down. Trust me you'll want to." so she sat down with Feri and told her the whole story, except thepart about vampires."And...Ashley's...Ashley's de..." she stopped mid-sentence, and soon looked some-what relieved.

"What happened?" Levi asked.

"She's not dead. She's been bitten."

"What!" a confused Feri asked.


	11. Explinations

Chapter Eleven

Explinations

"What do you mean 'She's been bitten!'" Feri asked, very confused.

"Okay. Well everything I told you is true. But I kinda left out a little bit, I'll explain what later. But first I want you to meet my friends. First we have Sasha, age..."

"1221! Nice to meet you." Sasha stated.

"Then there's Kris, age..."

"963! Pleased to meet you as well." Kris replied.

And then Levi! He's the same age as me. We grew up together."

"I'm 1312. Lovely to make your aquantence." Levi explained.

"That can't be true! That can't be true! That's not possible...is it!"

"Yes it is," Morgan explained. "We're all vampires."

"This is just like something out of a horror film. You not gonna suck my blood are you? PLEASE DON'T SUCK MY BLOOD!"

"Feri calm down! Don't judge vampires unless you know them. You know me, so you should trust me...whether I'm a vampire or not." Morgan explained.

"Okay? I trust you but how do I react to them?"

They're my friends and I expect you to treat them like they're your friends too. Trust me you'll want them on your side in the end of this. As long as you trust them and respect them, they'll protect you with their lives."

"What do they need to do that for?"

"We have to get Ashley and Tiffany back."

"From who?"

"Dracula!" Morgan said.

"Are you serious! _The Dracula?_! Oh My Gosh! This is so exciting!"

"How is this exciting!" Morgan screamed. "My father is very dangerous and just condemned Ashley! Who knows what he might do to Tiffany!"

"HE'S YOUR FATHER! He is like my idol that I look up to when I write my stories!" She said excitedly.

"Well when you meet Dracula, he will never be your idol again." Levi explained. "He's a bastard and a friend murderer!"

"Levi calm down!" Morgan said. "She'll figure it out on her own. It's not that difficult. She just doesn't have history with him yet...that's all. But she soon will. Now that she knows about him and us, it won't be long before he tries to kidnap her too. But we have to prevent that."

"How? The plan we came up with, won't work now. Unless you want Ashley to stay condemned." Sasha explained.

"Well then we'll just have to think of a new one. We can't give up. I will not loose more friends to him." she paused. "...I'VE GOT IT!"


	12. The New Guy

Chapter Twelve

The New Guy

"None of these plans are gonna work!" Morgan screamed.

"I guess that means I have to find him," Sasha said to himself.

"Who is "he?" Kris asked.

"He's one of my really old friends. I've known him longer than any of you guys. He is without dobt the smartest vampire I've ever known."

"When can he be here?" Morgan asked desperately.

"Are you sure we can trust him?" Levi asked.

"Of course we can! Why would you doubt that Levi?" He was silent.

"Who cares what he has to think! He'll probably end up betraying us anyway!" Sasha yelled.

"You guys STOP!" Kris said, stepping between the two.

"Why are you guys fighting? And why are you second guessing Sasha, Levi? What is that all about, Honestly?"

"I just don't think it wise to bring anybody in we don't know. That's all. Sorry, it's just how I feel."

Morgan looked at him like he was crazy, "If Sasha can trust him, we should be able to trust him too. That's what friends do."

"I just don't trust him, sorry." Levi stated blatently.

"Well I'm starting to not trust you! Morgan, keep on trying to strategize a plan. I'll try to return as quickly as I can, hopefully him with me." and with a quick hug good-bye he was gone.

**XxX**

A week passed by and there was still no new, workable plan, or a sight or sound from Sasha and the Mystery Man! "Kris, I'm worried about Sasha! He's still gone and we haven't heard a single word from him!"

"What are you talking about? I'm right here!" He walked up to Morgan and hugged her.

"I'm so glad you're...Wait...where's Mystery Man?"

"I knew you were gonna say that. He'll be here sometime today. And, just to warn you, he doesn't get out much so... don't do anything weird!" he directed towards Levi.

Morgan butted in, filling up the empty space. "I'm totally psyched 'bout meeting your friend. I have been waiting all week and now when I finally get to meet him, I don't even know his name."

It's same as mine."

"Sasha?" Kris blurted.

"NO! Sasha is just another form of my real name. It's really..."

Just then the room filled with smoke. Once it cleared, there was a tall man, dressed in all black. Black jeans, and ablack tee covered by a black leather jacket. He also had spiked black hair, and a pair of scuffed combat boots. Saha walked up to him and gasve him a hearty handshake and then motioned for him to approach Morgan.

"I would would like you to meet one of my good friends." Sasha said. "Morgan meet Alexander Sterling. Alexander meet Morgan Elliott." she reached out to shake hands, but instead of shaking back, he kissed her hand gently.

"Hello Alexander. I have heard alot about you. Its finally nice to put the face with the name."

"Well when Sasha explained your problem, I knew I should help. So...here I am!" he said with a faulty laugh.

"Well, we all thank you greatly for coming. I would also like you to meet Kris and Levi." She said pointing theother two out. "Now, please come and sit down. make yourself at home." After being seated, Morgan spoke again. "So Alexander, I was wondering, have you had any ideas. Cuz' we are all high and dry."

"Actually, as I was on my way over here I thought of an idea, that just might work."

"Shoot away!"

After what seemed like an hour, he finnished his very detailed description of his plan. Morgan was the first to speak, "WOW! That could actually work! And Ashley will then become mortal again, correct?"

"Yes." he said.

"So when will we be able to pull it off?" Sasha asked.

"It could take a week or a month. It just depends on how long and hard you guys are willing to work."

"Well, lets get started!" Kris said excitedly.


	13. The Betrayer

1Chapter Thirteen

The Betrayer

It had been almost three days since they first began work for the plan. Since it was Alexander's plan; he, of course, was the one in charge. Everyone did what they were told and gave 100% effort… well… everyone but Levi. He was still having trouble trusting Alexander.

On several accounts Morganapproached Levi, asking him questions about it trying to help, but it only furthered his aggravation. But the most recent disagreement sent him running out of the apartment.

**XxX**

"Levi, can I talk to you really quickly?" Morgan asked, waving him into a bedroom.

"Yes?" he said rudely.

"What is your problem?" she asked briskly.

"Why does it matter? And anyway, why do _you_ care?"

"What does that mean?"

"I see how you look at him," he said angrily.

"Who?"

"Alexander, who else?" he said hatefully.

"That doesn't mean anything." she said, tears forming in her eyes.

"Of course it does."

"What then? What does it mean?" she asked, tears now streaming down her cheeks.

"You know," he yelled.

"That doesn't mean I love him Levi!" she said grabbing his hand. He pulled away.

"Well then if it's not him that you love, who is it?"

"I don't know why you have to ask that. Do you really not know?" He didn't respond. "I hope this will clarify," she stepped closer and kissed him passionately. When she pulled away he just glared at her. "I love _you_." She said it so quietly, it was almost inaudible.

"I love you too." he said, placing his hand under her chin, making her look him in the eyes.

"Can we go back now? Alexander and the others need our help."

"There you go again! Why do you always talk about him?"

"Why do you not trust him?"

"Why do I have too," he asked sitting down on the bed.

"Because he's our only hope." she said sitting next to him. "And if we can't all get along and work together it might take longer to get Ash and Tiff back then we expect. All I want is my friends back… unharmed."

"And say they do come back, perfectly fine. What are you going to do about Dracula and Alexander?"

"I haven't really thought about it. I guess since Dracula is my father I can sit down and talk to him and…" Levi interrupted.

"Why don't you just sit down with him now? Then we wouldn't have had to bring Alexander here with his stupid plan."

"Levi, you're starting to scare me! Last thing I remember was you thought I should get revenge on my father. Why change your mind all of a sudden?"

"Because of Alexander."

"I can't believe you," she said amazed. "You're jealous!"

"No I'm not! I just don't trust him, that's all!" he said trying to hide his embarrassment.

"Well if you don't want to help me then leave."

"But I do want to help."

"Then you're going to have to work with Alexander. There's no other way."

"Why? Can't you figure out something else without him?"

No Levi, I can't. Why can't you be okay with this?"

He stood, "Because I don't want to loose _you_ to _him_!"

"You don't have to worry Levi, you don't."

"But I do. I love you Morgan, I want you to know that." And he bent down and kissed her on the forehead. "Good-bye," and he turned to leave.

"Levi, don't go!" she screamed, fresh tears now falling.

He turned to face her, anger now playing on his face. "Morgan just let me go," he roared, then stormed out of the room and then the apartment.

"Levi," Morgan whispered several times though sobs and sliding off the bed to her knees. Everyone heard the commotion, of course, and looked through the bedroom door to see a sobbing Morgan sitting on the floor.

Kris started to run in to comfort her but got a sharp command from Alexander before she could, "Go back to work!"

"But Alexander…" she stuttered.

"Go back to work!" he said, nicer this time. "I'll handle it."

And so Kris reluctantly went back to her job and Alexander approached Morgan, placing his hand on her shoulder. She shrugged away from him, and so he sat down next to her on the floor. "Morgan, what's wrong?" he asked gently.

"He left me," she said, her old tears quickly being replaced with fresh ones. It was quiet for a moment when suddenly she wrapped her arms around his neck and began sobbing once again.

Alexander, not knowing what to do, carefully wrapped his arms around her.


	14. Back to the Cemetery

1Chapter Fourteen

Back to the Cemetery

That night clouds gathered, and the moon disappeared. Levi stepped onto the street, the cold air catching his breath. He shrugged away the chill and started the long night's search for the 'Father of his Kind.'

**XxX**

"Vlad, she's waking."

He approached Ashley and smirked. She smiled back, her pointed teeth and crimson eyes shining brightly against her pale, milky skin.

"Excellent. The process is complete." He held out his hand, "Come my love, we need to talk. Mary watch the other, but do not lay a hand on her. I have plans."

"Yes, Vlad." Then Ashley and Vladimir disappeared into the darkness.

**XxX**

The night was slowly coming to an end and Levi still hadn't found the right cemetery. Although there were still several other cemetery's on the list that needed to be searched.

He was walking by the next cemetery on the list when he heard whispering. He hid; the voices approaching quickly.

**XxX**

"Okay Ashley we can stop now, I just didn't want to talk to you so close to Mary. She has extremely advanced hearing," he said wearily.

"No prob. She gives me the creeps."

"Whisper my dear. And you must change the way you speak. You must lose you teenage lingo."

"Why? Morgan never lost her 'teenage lingo'," Ashley stated, not meaning to sound rude.

Vladimir raised his hand, threateningly, "Do not take a tone with me. Besides Morgan never had a lingo, she was born in the year 963. She gained a lingo when she started living in your time period… when she betrayed me," he said, sounding upset.

"If you don't mind me asking, why did Morgan 'betray' you?" she asked cautiously.

"Yes I do mind. Besides that's not why I brought you out here."

"Oh yeah… I mean… Of course. Later perhaps. What was the real reason you brought me on this delightful little walk?"

"Morgan and your friendship." He looked at her, noticing how she suddenly stiffened and dropped her head to look at the ground.

Stuttering, she said, "What about me and her?"

"I need to know her weaknesses."

"But you're her father… don't you already know her weaknesses. Aren't they the same as yours?"

"Well, yes, of course. But she has human weaknesses. I never knew her long enough after the 'accident' and I never found out what those were."

"What accident?" She asked confused.

"When her mother died," he said very sadly.

"What happened? She's never talked about her mother before."

He paused. "She was very close to her mother… and me, while her mother was still alive. Her mother was human when she was born but once she was of age her mother joined us… she became a vampire. About five years later… Morgan was eighteen… her mother was killed by a slayer. She was absolutely devastated. She distanced herself from everyone. I haven't actually talked to her as a father since that day. I've only known her as a King to a Princess." His voice cracked and a tear slid down his cheek.

"He really cares!" Levi said quietly to himself.

Vladimir wiped away the tear then turned to face the spot where he heard the voice, "Who's out there? Make yourself known!"

Not wanting to face the wrath of Dracula, he gracefully jumped the fence and walked toward the pair. As he got closer, Ashley got a glimpse of his face, "Who are you?"

At that same moment Vladimir realized who this person was, "Levi, my daughter's closest friend. Why are you here? Did she send you?"

"No, that's not it… not even close," He said quickly.

"Wait! I've heard that name before. Morgan's told me stories about you and her. What are _you_ doing here?" Ashley said rudely, stepping in front of Vladimir.

"You must be Ashley. I wasn't talking to you. I believe I was talking to _him_," Levi sneered.

"Why you… you filthy traitor! I can't believe you... And I don't even know you!"

"You call me a traitor… but what do you call yourself? Hmmmm?"

"How dare you call me a traitor!" Ashley gasped. "I had no choice. I was…"

Vladimir placed his hand on her shoulder, shushing her. "That's enough," he said cooly. "Now Levi, why are you here? Answer quickly!"

"Lord Dracula, I have come to offer my services." Ashley shot him a glare, "I have known Morgan as long as I can remember. And I will give you any information you may need." He gave a curt bow.

"First, when you address me, call me Vladimir or Vlad. Second, how do I know you aren't lying? How do I know you will keep your word?"

"I will do anything you ask, a deed perhaps. And if I pass . . . I can join you. What do you think?" Levi questioned.

Vladimir thought long and hard, "I suppose."

"Great!" Levi stated, satisfied. "Where do I begin?"


	15. The Pass or Fail Test

1Chapter Fifteen

The Pass-or-Fail Test

"For now you will do nothing. I must first devise your 'test'." He paused, directing his attention to Ashley, "I ask you to keep him by your side at all times… never take your eyes off him. I don't trust him yet. And I promise that if he fails… you can be the one to kill him."

"Well since you put it that way… I'd be glad to. I hope he fails," she said looking at Levi with a smirk.

**XxX**

The week was long and Morgan was still terribly upset with the dispute between Levi and her. She expected his return and when he hadn't come back she began to worry. And finally, she forced herself to except the fact that he wasn't coming back.

Whenever she needed someone, Sasha or Alexander was there to comfort her. Which meant the project was lacking. They were in a very, very sticky situation.

**XxX**

A week passed and Vlad still had not yet devised a test for Levi… or at least he hadn't said anything about it. Well, actually, he hadn't spoken at all.

"What is taking so long?" Ashley whined.

"He must be really taking his time. Even I'm getting impatient!" Mary agreed.

"Shut up both of you!" Levi disagreed. "The longer he takes the harder the test, the better chance I have to prove myself," he said proudly.

Ashley looked at him in disgust and snarled, "What happened to you? Why did you turn on her?" He shook his head and said nothing. "What did she do that was so bad you felt you had to betray her?" she pressed.

"I don't want to talk about it," he whispered.

"No, you're not gonna get off that easily. You seem to forget that I have orders to kill you if you don't do as I say. So… I order you to tell me what happened that made you think she deserved to be betrayed?"

He looked at the ground and pondered her warning. A long silence passed then he spoke, "Morgan, Kris, Sasha and I were trying to come up with a way to rescue you and Tiff, but nothing would work. Well, Sasha mentioned a friend of his that was brilliant," he hissed the word. "He left immediately to go find him. About a week later he returned and his friend arrived shortly. His name was Alexander. Sasha was right, Alexander was very smart. Within and hour of his arrival we were already working. I didn't exactly trust him for more than one reason… but we'll talk about that later. Morgan didn't understand my problem with him and she kept confronting me. Well, finally during one of her confrontations she figured it out and it was then that I realized I couldn't stay there if Alexander was going to be there, too, and so I left. I just wish she understood why I came here." He looked at the ground as he finished.

"You were jealous, weren't you? That was the reason you didn't trust him. You were afraid Morgan wouldn't love you anymore." Ashley confirmed.

"I was so afraid of losing her. I just wanted him to go away."

"So you betrayed her? I still don't understand why you chose to come here?"

"I don't know either. I guess I was just hoping I could help. But I think I was wrong… but there's no going back now. If I ask to leave he'll kill me and if you let me go he'll kill you. And I can't let that happen to you, for Morgan's sake."

"Levi… I'm sorry this happened. I'll help make this okay, I promise."

"You can't," he said. "I won't let you. I came here and now I _have_ to follow though. I'm going to help Vladimir with whatever he needs. And if that means I have to destroy her, I'll have to do it."

Ashley became enraged and backhanded him as hard as she could. He acted as if he felt nothing, then stood and walked several feet away and sat back down. He didn't speak, nor did anyone else.

Several silent hours later, Vladimir finally emerged and spoke, "Ashley, how has he been? Not too much trouble I hope?"

"No, he was no trouble at all. Are you finished?"

"The test is complete." Levi stood up and became more alert as he said this. Then Vladimir turned to him, "Are you ready?" Levi nodded. "I have had a hard time deciding what would be the better way to have you prove yourself to me. But I have finally decided…" Levi looked at him, trying to mask his impatience, "You must steal whom you believe is most important to her and bring them here. Can you do this?"

"Yes Vlad. When do I leave?"

"Now." With that said, Levi disappeared in a poof of smoke.

**XxX**

KNOCK KNOCK

The door shook under the weight of the knockers' fist. Everyone stopped working. They were confused. Who could be knocking? It wasn't like they were expecting someone. Anyone who was of major importance (and on the 'good side') was already in the apartment. There was a sharp command from Alexander which got them all working again… all except Morgan.

She walked to Alexander's side and grabbed his hand, "Who do you think it could be?"

"I don't know. You step back and let me answer it. I'd rather it be me than you."

"Don't do this please. We don't have to answer it. We could just pretend there's no one here. Please, don't answer it." she pleaded.

He approached her, "I'll be okay. I'm a big boy." He said kissing her on the cheek.

He pulled away and wrenched his wrists from her tightly clenched hands. He walked to the door, looked through the peephole and let out a small gasp. "Who is it?" she asked nervously.

"Levi," he said, sounding slightly confused.

Morgan's head started to spin and she fell to her knees. _'He's back? What's he doing back? I thought he left? What do I do now?'_ she thought. Alexander was at her side as soon as she collapsed. "Don't worry about me," she said pushing him away. "Answer the damn door."

He reluctantly approached the door, flipped the lock and then slowly pulled the door open. In the doorway stood Levi, just as Alexander had said. Morgan slowly stood and silently stared. "Good day," Levi spoke. At the sound of his voice everyone stopped working and stared.

"Welcome," Alexander hissed. "What do you want?"

"I came to speak to you actually. Do you have a moment, and somewhere we could speak privately," he asked.

Alexander answered, malice coating his reply, "Certainly. This way please." He closed the door behind Levi and led him towards a bedroom. As he passed by Morgan he stroked her arm. Levi followed silently, but paused when he passed Morgan. He reached for her and placed his hand under her chin and kissed her lightly on the forehead. Then continued towards the bedroom behind Alexander.

He hated having to do this to her, but if he wanted to help he had to.


	16. The Striking of a Deal

1Chapter Sixteen

The Striking of a Deal

The door closed behind the two men. Alexander wheeled around to face Levi. "So… We're all by ourselves now. What was your reasoning for coming here? Do you have any idea what this is going to do to Morgan?"

"I came here for her," he said defensively, hating the way Alexander stood up for her.

"What, to take her to her father so he can get rid of her and her friends?"

"I wouldn't make assumptions," Levi growled.

"Once again I ask nicely, why are you here?" Alexander hissed.

"Do you really want to know?" Levi sneered.

"Why would I ask if I really didn't want to know," Alexander asked, getting impatient.

"Come closer," Levi whispered.

"You're joking, right? You expect me to trust you yet, you forget I was here during your betrayal."

"I betrayed nobody," Levi thundered.

"Oh, really? Then what do you call what happened a week ago, when you stormed out?" Alexander scoffed, his teeth bared.

"All I did was leave. What makes you think I went to her father? I could have been hunting for all you know? So don't assume anything about me! _You_ don't know me!" Levi spoke in a gnarled whisper.

"Then where did you go, if I may be so bold as to ask?"

"I wouldn't go as far as to call _you_ bold, but if you must know… I went to her father," Levi stated.

"And you don't call _that_ betrayal?"

"Not when you have reason to go."

Alexander growled, "Oh? And what was your reason?"

"To protect the woman I love and save her two friends whose lives are in danger, by her own father none the less." he said with a chuckle.

"I'm confused by your reasoning."

Levi paused as if thinking how to respond, when a sudden gut wrenching snarl escaped his lips, and he threw himself across the few feet that separated him from Alexander and tackled him to the ground. With all his weight keeping Alexander momentarily capacitated, he took the chance to materialize. Within a few seconds they went from the small bedroom in the apartment to the cold, dusty ground of the cemetery where three vampires and one scared human sat silently, waiting impatiently.

**XxX**

"Have you come back so soon?" Vladimir asked, noticing Levi rising to his feet with a struggling new comer in his grasp.

"I've brought you your prize. Alexander, meet Vladimir. Vladimir, meet Alexander. I hope this is good enough for you. I did do as I was told. I have stolen you the one person whom I believe is most important to her. And I took him right from under her nose."

"We shall deliberate. Mary, lock the new comer up. Ashley, follow me. Mary will join us shortly after her request is finished. Levi, you shall not move from this spot. If you decide you must for any reason, there will be a very large price to pay. And trust me, I will follow through." And with that said Mary took Alexander from Levi's grasp and he fell to the ground. Vladimir and Ashley walked off and disappeared into the shadows, Mary following momentarily.

Hour after silent hour passed and Levi began to space out, not noticing the quiet footsteps that approached him. "May I join you?" a meek voice spoke.

Levi startled, but quickly relaxed once he realized it was Tiffany. "Sure, why not," he said, gesturing to the empty ground beside him.

"What's wrong?" she asked, noting the mix of emotions playing on his face and sounding in his voice.

"I just wish I wouldn't have had to do that. She's probably just now realizing we're gone and she'll sit in the room where just hours ago Alexander and I spoke, and she'll cry. And she won't stop crying. I want to be there for her, to comfort her, but I'm better off alive if this is to work," his voice cracked.

Tiffany grabbed his hand and rubbed that back of it soothingly with her other hand, "It'll be all right," she cooed. "I'm sure she'll understand."

"But what if she doesn't? What if she hates me because of what I was just forced to do. Will she understand why I did all of this in the first place? Will she understand that I did it because I love her and care about her?" he said, his voice cracking more noticeably this time.

"All you can do is hope," she whispered, continuing to rub the back of his hand. "I think she will though. If you can save us, Ashley and I, she'll forgive you. She'll understand."

"I just hope you're right," he mumbled. There was a slight rustling behind them and Levi turned, Tiffany following his gaze. Behind them stood Vladimir with Ashley on his right and Mary on his left. Their crimson eyes shining in the disappearing moonlight.

"We shall take to shelter where this conversation maybe completed safely. The sun is still our enemy. Follow me. Mary, the prisoner," Vladimir said, then turned on his heels and led them down the familiar path they took every morning just before sunrise and entered the large cathedral. They then took the stairs to the highest level in the church and then the drop down ladder to the attic, where it was nice and damp and dark.

A moment of silence passed. Then Ashley spoke, "We have come to a conclusion. And we bear fair news."

"What do you mean by _fair_ news?" Levi snarled.

"She means it's somewhat good but could be taken badly by some people," Mary clarified, Alexander still in her grasp.

"Well then it's good news?" he questioned, still confused.

"For you, yes. For your 'friend' here, not so much." Vladimir said hissing in Alexander's direction.

"What are you going to do to him?" Levi liked the way this conversation was heading; Alexander would pay for coming between Morgan and him. But then he stopped to think. _How would Morgan react when she found out the he, Levi, was responsible for destroying the one she loved? Even if that meant Levi didn't have her, he still wanted to see her happy. And if that meant she was with Alexander then he would have to face that. He just couldn't let Vladimir destroy Alexander, not if he ever wanted to speak to Morgan again._ He began immediately preparing a plan incase death was Alexander's punishment. Levi relaxed greatly at the sound of the next words spoken by Vladimir.

"We have come to the conclusion that you are now trustworthy, but still kept a close eye on for a while longer. As for Alexander," he sneered, "he shall come have a short meeting with me and we shall discuss his importance and what he must do. If he does not comply, there shall be great losses." He shot a longing glance in Tiffany's direction. The muscles in Alexander's neck tightened.

Vladimir and Alexander scaled down the short ladder and commenced the small meeting in a matter of moments. When they returned, Alexander had a look of great disgust played on his face.

"Levi, will you please return him to my daughter, I'm sure she misses him greatly." then he turned to Alexander and spoke to him for the last time. "If you do not do as you have agreed, we will come for you. And you and Morgan may watch as I kill the girl. That is the last warning I shall give you. Heed it if you want her to live. You are dismissed."

Once he finished speaking, Levi grabbed him by the wrists and materialized in front of the apartment door. Not loosening his grip, he turned to the door and knocked. Sasha answered the door with a look of disgust as he took in the sight before him.

Alexander looked broken, his wrists gathered in Levi's right hand. And Levi had a cruel, disgruntled look on his face. "What happened to him?" Sasha snarled.

"I had to borrow him, sorry for keeping him so long. I hope he isn't overdue," Levi said as he threw him to the ground just inside the doorway. He then bent down to Alexander's eye level. "Remember you're promise or else." he whispered, his eyes narrow slits and his left eyebrow raised. He then stood, turned on his heels and disappeared once more.


	17. Time Together

1Chapter Seventeen

Time Together

Once Levi had run his errand with Alexander, he popped back to the attic room where he sat impatiently and conversed with Tiff. It was a long, bright day that was finally coming to an end. After dark, they started their way down to the back entrance which came out next to the cemetery gate.

At the gate he realized that he didn't want to spend time with this cheerful little group tonight so he came up with an excuse. "Em . . . Vladimir?"

He stopped and turned to face Levi, "Yes?"

"I hate to have to ask this," he stuttered. "But I haven't fed in weeks. So do you think I could take the night off and go hunting?"

"Certainly," he paused. "Take Ashley with you. She has yet to feed once and is looking a little weak." She didn't like the sound of this hunting thing. "Now dear, you must feed, and if you don't want to cause anyone to become a vampire just drink all the blood and then they'll die and then just leave the body. It's rather simple." Her eyes pleaded no. "Just go!"

And with that said Ashley and Levi left his presence.

When they were long out of range Ashley spoke, "Are you really going to hunt?"

"I'm not, but you are."

"What? Why?"

"Because Vladimir told you too, _and_ if you don't drink anything soon, you'll pretty much die. And we can't have that. Not when I'm so close to getting you two out," he whispered, even though no one was around.

"What do you mean?" she asked in amazement.

He silently cursed himself. "Nothing, forget I even said anything."

"You're not going to tell me?"

"Just drop it." he paused. "So, are you ready to learn what we vampires do best?"

"If you mean hunting, I'd rather get a stake shoved through my heart." she sneered.

"Sorry sweetheart, but we're not quite there yet. First you have to learn about how to use your powers… or at least get a general sense of how to control of them," he chuckled.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you're going to suck. Plain and simple."

"Well, thanks. You're so nice," she said sarcastically.

"Hey! I'm just saying. It takes months upon years upon decades upon centuries to master your powers. I've been alive for one thousand three hundred and thirteen years and I still don't have mine down to the 'T'. You're not the only person this happens to."

"Okay… sorry I snapped."

"It's okay. So… are you ready to learn?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," she stated.

"Good. Let's begin." He immediately commenced the explanation of eye sight, hearing, sense of smell, speed, agility, "flight", transformation and seduction. "You'll use these eight the most. Eye sight, hearing and sense of smell come naturally, although acuteness comes with training. Speed is exactly as it implies. It's how fast you can move. To have agility you need to understand speed and "flight". Flight is when you, as a vampire, defy gravity. Once you have achieved both, agility will come. Agility helps you control your speeds, transitions and your reaction time. And agility with flight is just you showing off.

"Transformation is when you learn to transform your body to anything you wish. The easiest is a wolf. It's what all vampires can transform into, the basic transformation shape. But with great practice you can change into anything. And last, is seduction. It is most important when hunting. Well, besides your fangs, of course. Seduction is what calls your victim to you. It reins in the prey. Do you understand?" he asked as he finished.

"Yes," she spoke.

"Good. Soon I will help you fully achieve the powers I just mentioned. But tonight they are not entirely necessary. Only your eye sight, hearing and sense of smell are essential."

"So what do we do first?"

"First, we must find a victim." She looked confused when he didn't move, "Let me clarify. _You _must find a victim."

"Do I have to…" she began to plead.

He cut her off, "No arguing. I'm only doing this for your own good. Now… eye sight, hearing and sense of smell. Concentrate."

Her eyes closed and the streets became silent.

Moments passed, and finally her eyes opened and she grinned. "What do you hear?" he asked.

"Two blocks away. I hear something."

"Do you know what you hear?"

"A man, I believe."

"Good job. Do you want to know what I know about him?"

"Sure, why not."

"He's a man. 5'11". 185 pounds," he paused to listen. "Wearing a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and boots," he paused again. "Wears glasses and has short curly hair."

"Show off."

"What can I say, it's a gift."

"Can we just get on with this? I mean, I'm already not looking forward to it."

"You know what your problem is?" he asked.

"No, but I'm sure you're gonna tell me," she said bitterly.

"As a matter of fact, I am. Your problem is that you're looking at this situation from the point of view of your human personality. You need to forget you human self and give into your savage vampire wants. You've got to be fighting some." She didn't respond. "I knew it! Give in Ashley. All you've got to do is give in!"

"But what if I don't want too?" she asked worriedly.

"But you do. _You're_ afraid of change. I know it's a big jump, but you can make it. I believe in you."

"Okay. Let's try this. I think I can. I think I can. I think I can," she whispered to herself.

"Here. I'll help," he reached out his hand for hers and she took it graciously. And as a duo they walked the few blocks to where the said man was. When they reached their destination, they hid in the shadows and made their way closer to study his movements.

"Wow! You were dead on with that description," Ashley gasped.

"Okay," Levi said with a smirk. "When you prepare to attack you need to take in movements, physical ailments, etcetera. Like on this guy here. He seems to have no noticeable physical problems. Which means he'll fight and fight hard. You're just going to have to bite as quickly as possible and not let go! Letting go would be a bad idea. I'm guessing you're going to kill, right?"

"Yes. For now anyway." She paused and took a deep breath, "I think I'm ready."

"Go!" he whispered.

Ashley lept from the shadows onto the unsuspecting victim, his back facing her. He began to immediately struggle, just as Levi had said, so she quickly sank her sharp fangs into the soft flesh of his neck. He yelped with surprise at the sudden intense pain. He tried and tried to shake her off, but her grip held fast. The warm blood tasted delicious as it ran down her throat, and she eagerly drank more and more, till at last no more would fall from the wound which she had made. Slowly the man had sank to the ground until he laid on the pavement at Ashley's feet, drained of all life.

Levi held his chin high, proud of what Ashley had just done and the way blood was dripping from her chin. She glanced at him and he smiled at her. She turned away, embarrassed, and wiped the blood from her chin. She immediately felt refreshed and rejuvenated and her eyes widened in pleasure.

"Well, what do you think? How do you feel?" he asked eagerly.

"I can't believe I just did that, yet at the same time it was amazing! _**Amazing**_! And the feeling… _**Indescribable**_!"

"I told you. GOSH! So… how do you really feel?"

She smirked showing off her still bloodied fangs, "I've never felt better."

**XxX**

The front door closed, Alexander a heap on the ground. The room was silent, everyone frozen in their spots. Morgan was the first one to move. She slowly walked to Alexander's side and sank to her knees. "Alexander?" she asked, as she began to place her hand on his shoulder.

"Leave me be!" he yelled.

She dropped her hand to her side and spoke again, "What happened?"

He was suddenly on his feet. "Leave me be!" he thundered and then stormed off toward an empty bedroom.

Morgan stood slowly, a look of pure anger on her face, "What in God's name happened that made him think I deserved that?"


	18. His Only Choice

1Chapter Eighteen

His Only Choice

"I don't know. Who knows what happened," Sasha whispered.

"All I want is to make sure he's okay," Morgan said sadly.

"Maybe all he needs is time?" Kris suggested.

**XxX**

"ENOUGH!" she screamed.

Sasha, not sure how to act, approached her. "You okay?"

"No, I'm not!"

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"It has been five days. FIVE DAYS! And he has not left that room once. Does he not know how worried I am about him? I want to know what happened to him," she said angrily.

"He obviously needs more time, Morgan," Kris said.

"No. He was given time. Five days worth of time," she stated. Then she stormed off toward the bedroom Alexander was taking refuge in and paused in front of the door. She inhaled and exhaled deeply to channel her emotions, then knocked.

KNOCK KNOCK

There was no response, "Alexander?" Once again, no answer.

She placed her hand on the door knob, turning to look back at the others. They both nodded slowly and she turned back to face the door, slowly turning the knob. She peaked her head through the door as she opened it, and saw Alexander sitting awkwardly half laying on the bed, his back facing her... she instantly knew something was wrong. She rushed to his side and turning him towards her. She gasped loudly, "Guys, get in here. NOW!"

Sasha and Kris hurried into the room, and gasped when they saw him. He was lying awkwardly and unconscious in Morgan's arms and looked very pale. And as they got closer they could see his chest was drenched in various shades of blood, and there was a large gash on the right side of his throat.

"He's trying to kill himself," Morgan stated in a whisper. Then her face grew hard and she started barking out orders. "Sasha, get him onto the bed, with his head propped up. And Kris, get some towels and warm water in case we have to try and stop the bleeding."

They immediately did as they were told and as Sasha was placing him on the bed, Morgan was already by his side her wrist at her mouth. She sliced open her wrist with her fangs and began letting the blood flow into Alexander's mouth. Immediately color returned to his face, but he remained unconscious, and thanks to the vampire blood his wound stopped bleeding and started to scab over. When a sufficient amount of color returned to his face, Morgan pulled her wrist away and held a towel to it to stop her bleeding.

She looked up at Sasha, "Do you think he'll be okay...?"

He opened his arms to her and pulled her into a deep hug, "I'm not sure, hun. We'll just have to keep a close eye on him for awhile."

Kris placed her hand on Morgan's shoulder, "We're lucky we found him in time. Good thing you're so impatient," she said, cracking a small smile as Morgan looked to her and did the same. "He'll be fine," she stated reassuringly.

"I hope so...," she said quietly. "And I'm not leaving his side until he wakes up," she said pushing herself out of Sasha's arms and walking towards the side of the bed.

"We didn't think you would," said Sasha, as he and Kris turned and walked out of the bedroom, closing the door behind them.

Morgan watched them leave, and then turned back to Alexander. She walked to the bed and lay down next to him, wrapping her hand around his, and nuzzled her head into the crook of his neck. "What happened to you? Why would you try something like this?" she whispered against his neck, gently pressing her lips to his skin.

He sighed loudly in his sleep and she sat up quickly hoping he was awake, only to be disappointed. She lay back down beside him and snuggled into his side. "I'm not leaving your side until you can look me in the eyes and tell me what happened, and why you did this," she stated quietly, yet firmly to herself, slowly drifting off to sleep.

**XxX**

He lay there, unconscious and healing, and as she promised, Morgan never left his side. She laid there next to him and slept, occasionally popping up when he sighed or mumbled or moved in his sleep, and occasionally feeding him more of her if she felt he looked too pale.

Finally, one afternoon after an entire week, Alexander's eyes opened for the first time. He couldn't remember where he was and reached for his neck, feeling gauze. He also felt pressure along the left side of his body and his hand was incased in warmth. He turned his head and saw Morgan sleeping next to him and he smiled and chuckled to himself. He carefully turned onto his side and, careful not to wake her, gently pulled her to his chest in a loving hug, kissing her lightly on the top of her head.

Her eyes fluttered open and she noticed immediately that she wasn't in the same position she had fallen asleep in and that she had remained in for the past week, she also felt a slight pressure on the top of her head and could hear quiet laughter. Immediately she wrapped her arms around him as tightly as she could and pleaded that he actually be awake.

He laughed again, breathing in deeply the scent of her hair, "Of course I'm awake."

She hugged him closer to her and sighed, "Oh, Alexander...," in relief. But then, she suddenly pushed herself away from him, and looked him in the eyes in a way that was unexpected. She looked unbelievably and lividly pissed.

He tried to keep a hold of her, but she pushed him away even more forcefully and jumped to her feet, turning her back to him. He sat up slowly, and as he started to say something she reeled around slapping him across the face so hard that it threw him back against the bed. He yelped in confusion, and she began screaming at him.

"Why in Hell would you do something like this to me!" he started to stutter an answer but she cut him off, "Do you realize how long you've been out! I found you on the floor practically dead a fucking week ago!"

His mouth snapped shut in surprise, and Morgan collapsed on the floor, her body now being rocked about by her sobs. By now Sasha and Kris had burst into the room, but Alexander shook his head at them and they reluctantly left. He slowly rose from the bed, his body weak and wobbly, and stumbled over to sit down next to her. He placed his hand on her back and she pulled away from him. So he wrapped his arms around her, using what little strength he had left, and pulled her into his lap.

She turned into his shoulder and continued sobbing, "Morgan, I... I don't even know what to say..."

Her sobs faded into a frenzied breathing, as she looked up at him and whispered, "Why?"

He pulled her into his chest and began sobbing himself, "I'm sorry Morgan. I... It was... I didn't have any other choice, and... And... I'm so terribly sorry..."

She stiffened in his arms and he loosened his hold so that she could pull away enough to look him in the eyes. "How could you possibly think that _that_ was your only option! What happened to you…?" she asked, her eyes pleading to understand.

He looked into her eyes, but couldn't handle the intensity of her gaze, "I... I can't tell you..."

"Why not?"

"...because he told me I wasn't allowed to..."

"What did Levi do to you...?" she asked incredulously.

"He didn't do anything. He may have taken me from this apartment, but other than that... it was someone else entirely."

"Where did he take you...?"

The room became eerily silent, and it looked as if time had frozen. She just looked at him, he didn't speak or look up or even try to gesture in anyway. And that was how she knew; "You saw my father, didn't you?" the room remained quiet. "Levi took you to my father, didn't he?" she already knew the answer, but she needed to hear it from him. His head slowly dropped, giving her an answer she didn't want to be true.

Suddenly she slammed the side of her fist against his chest in protest, the way you would a desk or table when you're angry. "NO!" she screamed, as she collapsed against him in a crumpled mass of heartbroken sobs, the whole time mumbling that same word over and over.


	19. Hope

Chapter Nineteen

Hope

Alexander tried to comfort her and pull her closer, but his weak muscles couldn't handle the effort. So when Sasha and Kris burst through the door to see what was wrong this time, he let Sasha pull her from his arms and hold her close to him as he helped her to the bed.

"Morgan, what's wrong?" Sasha asked her quietly, but she continued to sob; her breathing turning into uneven gasps.

Unsure of how to react, Sasha looked down at Alexander, "What did you tell her?"

"I only told her what she wanted to hear; where Levi took me and who I met," Alexander responded quietly.

Sasha paused for a moment, "He took you to meet someone?" Just then his eyes widened in shock, "You met Vladimir." He turned his head toward the door, speaking to Kris, "Levi has betrayed us. He took Alexander to Vladimir, which means he is working for him now."

Kris walked to the door, "Really? How do you know?"

"Why else would Morgan be so upset? Aren't I right Alexander?" Sasha asked, turning to his friend.

Alexander looked up at Sasha and nodded, and then turned to Kris, "I was taken from this apartment by Levi to a cemetery. There I saw three vampires. There was Vladimir, a dark haired female he called Mary, and then another female he called Ashley; I'm assuming she is Morgan's friend. There was also a human female there. He never said her name, but I assume she is her other friend, Tiffany."

Kris gasped, "How could he do this? Why _would_ he do this? He hates Vladimir as much, if not more, than the rest of us."

"Well, apparently he's gotten over his hatred because he's practically his right hand man now. Or at least, that's how it looked. Bringing me to Morgan's father was his 'test' of trustability. He passed," Alexander hissed.

The room grew silent, the only sound being Morgan's sobs. Sasha pulled her closer to his chest, tightening his grip on her, trying to protect her from everything bad that was happening. He turned to Kris, "Why would he do this? What was he thinking?"

"I don't know Sasha," Kris whispered as she approached the bed and sat down next to them, also wrapping her arms around Morgan. "I thought he loved her..."

Her words caused Morgan to flinch and she gently kissed her hair as she rubbed her back, "I'm sorry sweetheart. We won't talk about him anymore."

Morgan pulled away from Sasha and turned to hug Kris, "Thank you," she gasped.

Kris helped her lay down on the bed and pulled the covers over her. "You need to rest sweetheart. Sasha and I will be in the living room if you need us, okay?" she whispered.

"Okay," Morgan mumbled.

"Do you want me to stay here with you...?" Alexander asked quietly.

"Yes, please," whispered Morgan as she stretched her hand out towards him.

Kris glanced towards Sasha and grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the room. They closed the door as Alexander crawled into the bed next to her.

**XxX**

"We need to talk about this, now," said Kris angrily to Sasha once the door was shut.

"What is there to talk about?" he asked. "I don't think Alexander would lie about something like this. Not to Morgan."

"But Levi _hates_ Vladimir. More than you and I do, and even almost more than Morgan does. He's been with Morgan through all of the shit that Vladimir has done to her and wishes he had the ability to destroy him himself... this just doesn't seem like something he would do..."

"I know Kris," Sasha sighed. "But you saw how he reacted when Morgan consented to letting a stranger in so easily. And then once Alexander got here and she kept defending him, Levi just got angrier... I think he's jealous. I think he's afraid that Morgan is falling in love with Alexander, and that he's going to lose her... you know he would be destroyed if she didn't love him anymore..."

"Has he ever even expressed how he feels to her though? Or her to him?" Kris asked annoyed.

"I don't know," Sasha stated. "I don't think so... although it may have finally come up when they had their big argument a few weeks ago."

"If he's never confessed to her that he cares for her, how does he expect her to understand why he didn't agree with her defending Alexander? He can't just not tell her and hope that she assumes everything!" Kris collapsed on the couch pulling a hand through her hair in frustration. "I mean, I know that he's made it pretty obvious how he's felt about her for quite some time, but he still can't get angry that she might have feelings for another man if he's never actually told her."

"I know," Sasha said, sitting down next to her. "I just don't understand why Morgan falling for another guy would lead him to betraying her..."

"Like I said," Kris mumbled, "it doesn't seem like Levi."

"But at the same time, have we ever seen him in a jealous rage?" Sasha asked. "When someone threatens your future like that, people tend to not think very clearly. Maybe he thought going to her father was the right thing to do..."

"But as he cooled down, he realized his mistake... but by then he had already promised Vlad to do that whole trust-test thing, and he knew he couldn't get away, not if he wanted to live..." Kris started to tear up. "What if he has no choice but to destroy her, or one of us, or even Tiffany?" Her voice grew so feint that you could barely make out what she was saying, "What if Vlad plans on making him do something so terrible that Morgan would never forgive him, no matter what?" Her tears finally spilled over and ran down her porcelain cheeks.

Sasha wrapped his arms around her and held her while she cried, "Shhh, Kris. Everything will be fine. We just have to hope that everything will be okay," he said holding her close and rubbing her back. All of a sudden he froze.

Kris pulled away and looked up at him, "Sasha, you okay? What's wrong?"

He looked her in the eyes and a huge, gaping grin spread across his face. "Why are you smiling?" Kris asked, "What are you thinking about?"

If it was even possible, Sasha's smile grew even bigger, "What if, just maybe, when Levi finally calmed down he came up with a plan," Sasha whispered excitedly. "What if he's still on our side and is still trying to save Ashley and Tiffany?" He voice was starting to slowly raise in volume, "What if this is now an inside job?"

Kris looked deep into his eyes and suddenly felt a spark of faith. A smile spread across her face, mirroring Sasha's. She tackled him to the couch in her excitement and wrapped her arms around him tightly, "You have the best thoughts ever," she squealed excitedly, pulling away to kiss him on the forehead. "You have to be right," she stated, finally pulling away to sit up. "That's the only thing that makes sense." Just then her smile faltered, "Do we tell her...?"

"No," Sasha whispered, his smile also falling a little. "I think this needs to stay between us. We don't actually know if this is the truth for sure and we don't want to get her hopes up, or make her think that we are trying to side against her if she doesn't believe us."

"Okay," Kris stated, her smile coming back in full force. _'This has to be the truth. It's the only possibility that makes sense. Levi couldn't really think, after everything that's happened with Morgan, that taking Vlad's side is right,' _Kris thought excitedly.

She stood up from the couch and looked towards one of the shaded windows, it was almost completely dark outside. She reached her hand out towards Sasha, "I'm starving. Can we go grab a little something to eat?"

"Sure," he said as he grabbed her hand. She helped pull him off the couch and they walked out of the apartment hand in hand.


	20. Impatiently Waiting

Chapter Twenty

Impatiently Waiting

She was sitting up on the couch, filled with worry. When she woke up, Alexander was still asleep with his arms around her, and the only noise she could hear was the gentle breathing coming from the vampire laying next to her. She could hear no other sounds to identify where Sasha and Kris were in the apartment.

Not wanting to wake Alexander, she slowly slipped out from between his arms and tip-toed out of the room.

She searched everywhere in the tiny town house, but Sasha and Kris were nowhere to be found. She glanced at the clock and her worry instantly doubled. It was four in the afternoon. She had slept almost the entire day. _'Why would Kris and Sasha leave the apartment? Did Levi come and kidnap them too while I was asleep? Could I honestly have slept through that?' _Morgan thought frantically.

She sat down on the couch and rested her face in her hands, and that was how she stayed only occasionally raising her head to glance at the clock. As the minutes ticked by her worry increased, turning into a terrible fright. About an hour and a half into her waiting, Alexander walked into the living room and when he saw her sitting like that, rushed to her side.

"Morgan, what's wrong?" he asked frantically.

She didn't respond and he looked around hoping for an explanation from Kris or Sasha. Then he realized that they weren't in the living room. He got up and searched everywhere in the tiny town house and, like Morgan, found them nowhere.

He made his way back towards Morgan and sat down next to her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. He nuzzled into the crook of her neck and asked, "Where are they?"

Morgan gasped like she had been holding her breath, and half gasped-half whispered, "I don't know!" She had been holding back tears for so long and finally speaking pushed them over the edge and sent tears streaming down her cheeks.

He pulled her into his chest and soothingly rubbed her back, "Shhh, Morgan. Don't cry, I'm sure they're fine." He pulled back so he could look her in the eyes and tried to wipe the constantly flowing tears from her face. "They are strong vampires, Morgan. They know how to take care of themselves," the corners of his mouth pulled up into a small, reassuring smile.

"I know! But what if Levi came back for them? What if I just slept through the kidnapping of my two most trusted friends?" She began crying more fiercely and pulled back to her original position of sitting with her elbows on her knees and her face in her hands.

Alexander, unsure of how to comfort her, angled himself towards her and placed his left hand on her thigh and his right hand on the small of her back gently tracing small circles with his thumb. And that was how they remained for another three hours.

**XxX**

Morgan glanced up at the clock; it read: 8:30PM. She sighed nervously. It had gotten dark around seven and she was starting to wonder if she should go out and look for them. She had sat up and started stretching her tense muscles when a pair of voices could be heard walking down the hall outside the door. Someone started laughing as the door opened.

Sasha pushed open the door and Kris walked in laughing loudly, both of them smiling largely. Suddenly they paused when they took in the scene before them. Morgan jumped to her feet and rushed to their sides giving both of them huge hugs. Kris kissed the top of her head, "Is someone feeling better?" She received a glare from Morgan, "I'll take that as a no..."

"Where in Hell have you two been?" Morgan asked angrily. "I woke up at four and neither of you were anywhere to be found. I have been sitting on this couch for the last four and a half hours hoping that I hadn't honestly slept through Levi kidnapping you!" She started to get teary-eyed again and Kris immediately wrapped her arms around her.

"I'm so sorry sweetheart. We didn't mean to not be here when you woke up. Last night Sasha and I had a serious talk about this entire situation and then went out for some dinner. We hadn't meant to travel so far away from home, but by the time the sun was coming up we weren't even halfway back, so we had to chill out in an abandoned building for the day."

Sasha walked up beside the pair and gently kissed Morgan on the cheek, "We're fine Morgan. Nothing bad is going to happen to us. We're big vampires, and we know how to fight for ourselves. We promise we won't let even Levi get the better of us," he said, reassuringly smiling down at her. The corners of her mouth pulled up and returned his smile and she wrapped her arms around him.

"I'm so glad you two are okay. Never do that again, ever! Promise...?"

Kris and Sasha both looked at each other and smiled before turning back to Morgan and saying in unison, "We promise."

"Good," Morgan said with a smile and a small chuckle.

Kris glanced over at Levi and he gave a short nod, so Kris turned back to Morgan, "Sweetie, I hate to have to say this and take that beautiful smile off your face, but do you want to talk about Levi and what happened?" Morgan grimaced at the sound of his name. "I know you're upset about what happened and you've got to be grieving at least a little bit...we could go talk about if you need to get some stuff off your chest..."

"Please, don't mention his name," Morgan whined. "He made his decision, and if that's what makes him happy then I guess I just have to deal with that. He obviously didn't want to be here," she stated quietly.

"Do you honestly believe that after everything you two have been through?" whispered Kris, sadly.

"Yes," Morgan murmured, and then her face grew angry. "I thought he hated my father, but he obviously fooled all of us for a very long time. I guess he's just not who I thought he was," her voice faltered for a moment but then she regained control over her emotions. "I refuse to let myself cry over a man who obviously has no feelings for me or you two, for that matter. He's not worth_ our_ time."

"If that's how you feel," Kris murmured as Sasha placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.


	21. Step Towards Good

Chapter Twenty-One

Step Towards Good

It had been almost two weeks since he'd gone to the apartment and stolen Alexander from her. He knew that what Vladimir had asked of him was probably not very pleasant, but didn't actually know what he had said to him only that he needed to keep his word for Morgan's sake.

The past two weeks had mostly been him going out and Ashley tagging along, and they had started to grow closer with each adventure. Now that she was positive that he was still on the side of good, she started reaching out and trusting him more and more. Most the time she talked about Morgan, he figured she realized how much he enjoyed it. He liked getting to hear about the parts of her life he'd been forced out of.

On the other hand, he was also starting to get annoyed. Vladimir had told him that he had passed his test and that they now trusted him, but he had yet to actually ask anything else of him. All he did was sit around talking to Tiffany and Ashley or go out hunting; Vladimir hadn't even really spoke to him since the night he had brought him Alexander. It was starting to get very irritating.

Levi was sitting next to Tiffany and talking to her, when out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ashley abruptly turn as a smile spread across her face. He had to assume that Vladimir had walked into the room. Ashley had become so attuned to him recently and he was almost 100% positive that she wouldn't want to become human again. It was obvious that she was falling in love with him and wouldn't want to be separated from him; if only she understood the danger in that.

Vladimir walked up to her and placed his hand on her cheek smiling down at her, at least he seemed to be feeling the same way. Levi had never seen him act this way towards any of his other "wives" other than Morgan's mother and secretly hoped that it was a good sign.

He suddenly turned towards him, as if he knew Levi was watching them, "Good afternoon, Levi."

"Good afternoon, Vladimir," he stated with a smirk. "I was wondering, if by chance, there is anything I could do for you, sir? Maybe you perhaps have an errand I could run, or have anything further planned for the future of your daughter?" He couldn't actually say her name, it had started to hurt him too much.

Vladimir paused and thought about what he had just said, and then he quietly spoke, "I _may_ have something that you could do, but do you think that we could speak quietly for a moment?"

He paused for a moment, taken aback by the suggestion, "Of course, sir."

"Follow me," Vladimir stated and then took his leave down the attic stairs and into the darkening hallway that awaited them. After Levi had descended the stairs and securely closed the door behind him, Vladimir turned to face him, "I want to apologize Levi. I'm afraid that even though you were told that you were trusted, I have had a hard time actually remembering to do it. I kept wondering if you were actually going to try to go running back to her. I can tell how hard this is for you."

"I told you that I am here to help you Vladimir. I meant that sincerely."

"I know Levi," he stated. "And I have finally come to the point where I believe that," he paused for a moment, as if deep in thought, then continued. "I wish I could say that I have something for you to do, but I honestly do not. I am having a hard time deciding who I can fully trust all of my thoughts to... Mary is not an option because she has proven to me in the past that she is not trustworthy. And I am not entirely sure how much I can tell Ashley," he murmured, "She seems to be trying to get closer with me every day, but I cannot be positive what her motives are..."

"Believe me, Vladimir, when I say that she can be trusted," Levi said. "I am constantly watching Ashley, and although I know that Morgan," he winced slightly when he spoke her name, " would not be pleased with this situation, I believe that Ashley is becoming very attached to you."

Vladimir's eyes brightened slightly, as he looked deeply into Levi's searching for the truth in his words. He smiled faintly, "Have you also realized that I am becoming very attached to her, as well?"

"Yes," Levi whispered, slightly taken aback by how much Vladimir was actually telling him. "I know that you and I have had a rough past because I was always on _her_ side, but I have never seen you act this way towards any other vampire other than her mother. I hope that it means that you will protect Ashley with your life. Ashley is one of her very dear friends and she will not be pleased that she will no longer want to become human again."

Vladimir's eyes brightened even more, "Do you really think that she has begun to care about me that much?"

"Yes, I really do."

Vladimir stood there quietly for a very long moment before he finally spoke again, changing the subject, "I feel I have done wrongly in trying to confront Morgan," he whispered.

He had spoken so quietly that Levi wasn't sure he had heard him correctly, "You _regret_ how you've treated her...?"

Vladimir gently nodded his head; he looked as if he disgusted himself. "I want her to trust me again, and I now know that I have forgotten how to do that without applying force."

"I have never seen her hate someone so much before," Levi stated, "I don't know if she could forgive you after everything you've done..."

Vladimir's face instantly grew angry. "You may leave," he said harshly.

Levi didn't expect his reaction and grew angry himself, "I didn't say that is was impossible, but your only choice would be to slowly gain her trust back... perhaps a "peace offering" of some sort..." And with that he turned and made his way back into the attic letting his words sink into Vladimir's thoughts, hoping that he understood what he was hinting at.

**XxX**

When it grew dark outside Mary led the small group down through the church and out into the cemetery. Since Vladimir was nowhere to be found, Levi asked Mary if he could take his leave for the night and then set out with Ashley by his side.

She was particularly quiet tonight, when normally she was very talkative. Levi glanced over at her, "Are you alright?" he asked quietly.

"I don't know," she murmured, sounding worried.

"What's wrong?" Levi asked.

"I'm worried about Vlad," she stated quietly.

Levi stopped walking and turned to her, "Why?"

"What did you two talk about?" she asked.

"I'm not sure if he wants me to talk about it, "Levi stated. "It seemed like he was trying to confide in me. Like he knew how close Morgan and I had been and that he knew I would understand her reactions and be able to interpret her thoughts better than anyone else.

"He cares about you a lot, by the way," Levi whispered as he turned and started walking again.

Ashley started walking again too, matching his stride, "Really?"

He could hear the smile in her voice. "Really," he smiled down at her. She looked up at him, returning his smile, but then he grew serious, "But I want to warn you of the danger in that."

She frowned slightly, "What do you mean?"

Levi stopped walking again and turned to face her. "Vladimir has never been overly _protective_ of his 'wives'. I'm not entirely sure if that's what he's considering you or not," Ashley winced subtly at his words, "and that may be a good thing. I've never seen him ever truly care for another person like he did Morgan's mother, and that may never change... but it _may_ be changing. I just want you to watch out for yourself. Don't be like the others and expect him to protect you, because he may not."

"Okay," Ashley whispered, "I promise I'll look out for myself, no matter what."

"Thank you," Levi rushed, pulling her into a large hug. "I would hate for you to decide that this life is what you want and then have it end so quickly. We may be super powerful and immortal creatures, but we are hunted just like any other animal... and Slayers do not give up very easily." He pulled away so he could look down into Ashley's eyes, "Do you think I would have ever left Morgan's side for any other reason? We used to be inseparable..."

Ashley placed her hand on his cheek, "Have you ever told her how you felt? How you still feel?"

"It's not that easy," he said quickly, pulling away from her.

"But it _is_ that easy, Levi. You have been in love with her forever, and you're too scared to tell her how you feel. Too afraid that confessing feelings for her might ruin your friendship... But not really realizing that telling her would most likely just make your life better. Is it not obvious that she's in love with you too?"

"I don't know how she feels about me," he lied.

"I know that she does," Ashley stated angrily. "But because you couldn't tell her she got eyes for another guy and then you got jealous. But instead of just talking to her about it peacefully you stormed out of the apartment and did the worst thing possible. You joined her father who is planning her demise!"

"I know I made the wrong choice," he yelled. "I know I ruined my chances with her by making this decision, but I still want to try to help her! I want Vladimir to trust me, because I _do_ know Morgan better than anyone else, and I'm pretty sure I know that she would rather make amends then to battle for her friends lives. But unless someone else says it for her, she's gonna do it the hard way. Vladimir's side doesn't have to be the bad side! I want to help her, and they only way I can do that now is by helping him!" He turned on his heels and started walking away from her briskly.

Ashley was taking aback by his rage, and was frozen for a moment. When she finally decided she needed to catch up with him, someone stopped her by placing their hand on her shoulder. She spun around in surprise, ready to defend herself, but immediately relaxed when she saw it was Vladimir.

He looked down at her, "Head back to the cemetery dear. I need to speak with Levi alone."

Her eyes grew wide with fright, but he smiled at her reassuring that he was not going to be mean, and then pushed her in the direction of the cemetery and started off after Levi.

**XxX**

Levi could hear footfalls behind him, and assumed that it was Ashley following him so he just ignored them. But after they had followed him for another fifteen minutes, he was starting to grow angry. Wasn't it obvious that he didn't want company? He squeezed his eyes shut in fury then spun on his heels, "Stop following me Ashley! I don't want to be around you right now!"

"It is a good thing I'm not Ashley then." Levi's eyes snapped open to find Vladimir standing in front of him, smirking.


	22. The Happy Reunion

Chapter Twenty-Two

The Happy Reunion

"Vladimir! I apologize, I thought you were..."

"Ashley. Obviously," Vladimir chuckled. "And there's no need to apologize. What did she do to anger you?"

"I mentioned her once.. Once! And she..."

Vladimir interrupted him, "Her?"

"Morgan," he winced slightly.

"Ah," Vladimir sighed. "Once you mentioned her, how did Ashley respond?"

"She immediately asked me if I had ever talked to her and confessed how I felt. When I told Ashley that it wasn't that easy she got defensive. She told me that it _is_ that easy and that the only reason I couldn't do it was because I was too afraid. Then she asked if I knew how she felt. When I told her that I didn't know how she felt about me, she got angry. She yelled at me that she knew she loved me and that since I couldn't tell her how I felt she went off and got eyes for another guy, making me jealous. And that instead of just trying to talk to her about it I ran off and I told her-"

Vladimir cut him off, "Yes, I heard this part. You made the wrong decision, and now you cannot go back. You think that you have ruined your chances to be with her, but you still want to help her. You said that my side doesn't have to be the bad side, and that you want to help her by helping me, is that really true?"

"Yes. I know that she doesn't fight with you because she wants to. She's never been a very aggressive person in the past. She just always felt she had to protect herself from what you became after her mother was killed, when you stared destroying her friends." Vladimir flinched at his words, "I'm not saying that you can't fix this though. She and her friends came up with a plan, and it was actually quite brilliant, but..."

"Yes, it seems to be a very extensive and complex plan, but if the end is still what Alexander told me it was it will not destroy me."

"Really?" Levi asked in confusion.

"There is only one way in which to destroy me that only my daughter and I know."

Levi was quiet for a moment, "Wait, Morgan," he slightly winced again, "knows how to destroy you?"

"Yes," Vladimir stated. "Why does saying her name make you flinch?"

Levi closed his eyes and spoke quietly, "I miss her so much, and being away from her hurts. The sad thing is I didn't even tell her how I felt until the day I left. She was confronting me about why I disliked Alexander and she finally figured out that it was because I was jealous. She told me that she loved me and that I didn't have to worry, but she still wouldn't ask him to leave- she just kept defending him. That's when I knew I couldn't stay... I told her I loved her and then I left. I made a huge mistake... but all I can do now is try to make things right. No matter what happens, I will always love her," he voice broke as he fought back tears.

Vladimir, without thinking, took the few steps that closed the distance between him and Levi and gently placed his hand on his shoulder. "I am truly sorry, my friend," Vladimir spoke quietly, "I want my daughter back in my life and I know that you are the only person who can help me make that happen peacefully. And I hope that she understands what you did and why. Never give up hope that she will forgive you."

There was a long pause and neither man moved, both of them acknowledging their newfound friendship. Suddenly, Levi's eyes popped open, "You said that Morgan knows of the only way to destroy you?"

"Yes," Vladimir stated curiously.

"She hasn't told anybody!"Levi said excitedly.

"What does that mean?" Vladimir questioned.

"I'm almost positive that if she never told me, she also never told anyone else. That means her intentions were never to get rid of you. She only wants to hurt you enough to make you release Ashley from the curse and then rescue both of her friends. She still cares enough about you to not destroy you."

"So are you saying that this may be easier than you originally expected?"

"Yes," Levi said, still gaining excitement. "What we need to do is prove to her that you no longer care about trying to hurt her, that you want to start gaining her trust back. We need to make sure she knows it is sincere, and not make her think it could be a trap. This could really work though." Levi's mind was working full force.

"Levi, I trust you to help me do what I need to win her back. What should our next move be?" Vladimir stated seriously.

"We need to talk to Tiffany."

**XxX**

Vladimir approached the tiny group with Levi next to him, "Tiffany?" She glanced up at him apprehensively. "Would you mind coming with me for a moment, dear?" he asked, offering her his hand.

She reached out for his hand and he helped her stand. "Of course," she murmured.

The three of them walked to a far side of the cemetery where they knew no one could overhear what they were going to talk about.

"Tiffany, dear," Vladimir spoke quietly, "Levi and I have come to an agreement about what must happen next." Tiffany's body stiffened and her eyes widened in shock. Vladimir instantly retorted, "No, no. Calm down child. Nothing bad is going to happen to you, we promise."

Tiffany, afraid to trust Vlad, turned to look at Levi who smiled at her reassuringly. "Then, what do you need of me," she asked, more confident now.

"Nothing," Vladimir sighed. "We never did really need you for anything other than blackmail, so Levi has convinced me that our best chances of gaining Morgan's trust would be to release you."

Tiffany's eyes widened again, this time with shock, "Really?"

"Really," Levi said, finally speaking.

"What are my conditions?" Tiffany asked.

"What do you mean?" Vladimir questioned.

"Well I'm sure that you will want me to do something for you in return for being released. And of course, there's got to be some story you want me to tell Morgan."

"We ask nothing of you in return," Vladimir stated quietly. "And in terms of a story to tell Morgan, we just ask that you tell her the truth. Levi helped me realize that taking you was a mistake, and therefore, returning you is just me correcting that mistake. We do not want her to think that this is a trap because it is not. I want her to trust me again and this is the only way I feel she can begin that process."

Tiffany nodded, "Of course, Vlad. Thank you so much. You have no idea how much I appreciate this."

"You are very welcome, my dear," Vladimir said, smiling down at her. "Oh, and please make sure Morgan knows and believes that this was Levi's idea."

"Of course," she said, smiling widely.

"Levi, please tell my daughter that we have yet to talk to Ashley about also returning, and that once we do, you shall return to discuss it with her."

"Yes, Vladimir. I really think this is going to work," Levi said excitedly.

"I believe it will too," Vladimir stated, smiling. "You are free to return her whenever she would like Levi. Tiffany, do know that you are always welcome to come back and visit if you would like."

"Thank you, Vlad. And please tell Ashley that I said goodbye." Then she turned to Levi, "I'm ready to go back now."

"As you wish," Levi said with a smile, extending his hand towards her. As she took his hand they disappeared in a plume of smoke.

**XxX**

Things had become a lot less complicated now that Alexander had started healing and everything was now out in the open. So they had then be able to continue working and the plan was progressing very well, causing lots of excitement.

It was in the middle of the night and the small group of vampires were all sitting in the living room enjoying a small break and a little bit of T.V. They were currently laughing at Alexander because of his lack of knowledge about T.V.s when they were interrupted by a knock on the door.

They immediately grew very quiet, and the knock came again.

"Who do you think it could be?" Morgan whispered.

"I'll check," Sasha said as he stood and approached the door. he glanced through the peep hole and his eyes widened in surprise. "It's Levi," he gasped.

"Really?" Kris stated excitedly. "Let him in!"

"No!" Morgan said in a yelled whisper.

"Morgan," Kris said, turning towards her. "There are four of us and one of him, we'll be okay."

Morgan looked worried, but didn't object, so Kris turned back to Sasha, "Open the door."

Sasha obliged, "Hello, Levi. Please come in. May we help you?" He started to close the door behind Levi, but was stopped.

Levi turned towards the hallway and spoke. "Will you please join me?" he asked, offering his arm to the invisible person.

Tiffany slipped her arm into his and looked up at him smiling, ignoring the gasps of surprise from the others in the room, "Thanks, Levi."

Morgan grew angry, "Why are you here? And why is she with you?"

Levi's face faltered, his smile falling, "Please don't be angry, Morgan. We come here in peace."

"He's not lying, Morgan," Tiffany said, still smiling, "We only came to talk."

Kris jumped in, "Then by all means, come in and sit down. This must be very important."

Levi escorted Tiffany over to the couch and they both sat. "I come here on behalf of Vladimir. He apologizes that he could not be here himself for this happy reunion," Levi stated.

Everyone's eyes widened at Levi's words. "Reunion?" Morgan asked, "What are you talking about?"

Levi flinched slightly as he watched Alexander place his arm around her, and Tiffany lightly squeezed his hand in comfort. He looked Morgan directly in the eyes, speaking as if she were the only one in the room, "Morgan, very recently your father began to confide in me; I'm not sure how much he actually wants me to tell you at this point, but he no longer wants to fight with you." Morgan gasped. "Believe me if you want, but he asked me what he should do, and my response is what brings us here tonight. I have come to return to you something you find very important," he said, gesturing towards Tiffany.

Morgan's hand flew to her mouth in surprise to what Levi had spoke. "It's true, Morgan," Tiffany said, unwinding her arm from Levi's and standing. "I'm here to stay, with no stipulations."

Morgan rose from her seat and approached Tiffany, placing both of her hands on her friends' face. "You're really here? He never hurt you?" tears began falling freely down her cheeks.

"I'm really here," Tiffany squealed, wrapping her arms around her friend tightly. "He not once tried to hurt me," she said, answering Morgan's second question.

Morgan pulled her friend even closer to her, "I'm so glad you're okay." Suddenly her face grew hard and she pulled away and looked at Levi. "You may leave now."

He tried not to look hurt at her words. "Of course. I just have one more thing to stay," he paused. "Your father also wanted me to tell you that we have yet to talk to Ashley about her return, but that once we have, I will be back to talk to you. Because of her transformation it makes things a little more complicated."

Morgan nodded in response and then motioned towards the door.

"I will take my leave now, " Levi spoke. "I hope to see you all again very soon. Goodbye Tiffany, it was very nice to get to know you."

"You too, Levi," Tiffany said. She pulled away from Morgan and rushed to give him a hug. "Thank you, so much, for everything you have done."

"No problem," he said, returning her hug. He leaned in close and whispered into her ear, "Help me, please."

She pulled away and subtly nodded her head in response to his request.

And with that, Levi strode out of the apartment and was gone.


	23. History Revealed: Part I

Chapter Twenty-Three

History Revealed: Part I

Levi returned to a secluded part of the cemetery and collapsed on the ground, letting the pain he felt overwhelm him.

He laid there for what felt like hours, finally getting up when he realized that the sun was rising. He made his way up to the attic, joining the rest of the group.

Ashley looked around, "Where's Tiffany?"

"Tiffany is no longer with us," Vladimir spoke.

Ashley, fearing for her friend's life, grew very defensive, "What did you do to her!"

Vladimir rushed to her side, placing his hands on her face, "Shh. Nothing like what you are thinking has happened. Your friend is safe and sound in your apartment with Morgan and her friends."

Ashley's face softened slightly, "Seriously..?"

Vladimir smiled, "Yes, my dear."

Ashley practically jumped into his arms and hugged him tightly, and he slowly returned her embrace.

"Oh Vlad, that was so nice of you... but," She pulled away from him, "but what does that mean?"

"I no longer wish to fight with my daughter, Ashley. Last night, Levi and I had a very serious discussion and he helped me figure out how I can try to gain Morgan's trust back. He said that the best way would be to return her friends, and so that is what I plan to do. Which leads me to two questions. First, Levi," he said as he turned toward him," how did everything go?"

Levi stepped forward, "Everyone was completely shocked. ...Morgan was very wary to begin with, but was also very happy when she was told that Tiffany was there to stay. But as soon as Tiffany left my side I was ordered to leave... I did as I was told, only stopping to say goodbye to Tiffany and giving Morgan the message you told me to deliver."

"Good. Thank you, Levi. Secondly, Ashley," he said turning back towards her, "Could we talk privately, please?"

"Of course, Vlad," and she followed him down the stairs that led out of the attic.

**XxX**

As the door closed after Levi and she knew he was gone, Morgan pulled Tiffany back into her arms. "Did that all really just happen?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yes, Morgan," Tiffany chuckled, "I'm really here, Vlad really let me go just because and it really all was Levi's idea."

Morgan pulled back and opened her mouth like she had a question but couldn't speak. "Please, Morgan, ask as many questions as you'd like and I will answer them, if I can, with the truth," Tiffany spoke.

"What happened?" Morgan whispered.

"Levi and Vlad came back after having been gone a majority of the night and asked to speak with me. Once the three of us were alone Vlad told me that he didn't want to fight with you anymore and that he wanted you to be able to trust him again. Apparently, Levi told him that returning me would be the only thing that could possibly make you think he was serious."

"How do I know this isn't a trap?" Morgan asked cautiously.

"It isn't a trap. Or at least that is what I was told. Vlad told me that I was free to go whenever I wanted and that if I ever wanted to come back and visit, I could," Tiffany said, slightly smiling, "He seemed truly genuine, Morgan."

"He always seems truly genuine, Tiffany. He's a very good liar," Morgan said, frustrated.

"This seemed entirely different than usual though. I don't know a lot because he didn't speak to me for very long but I do know that he genuinely seemed upset that you were no longer in his life and that it all really was because of Levi."

**XxX**

"Most importantly, Ashley, I would like to bid you farewell on behalf of your friend. I do say that Tiffany was so excited to go back to Morgan that she asked me to tell you goodbye for her," Vladimir said, as he turned to face Ashley, "Secondly, I have something very important to discuss with you."

"Of course, Vlad. You can talk to me about anything."

"Like your friend, Tiffany, it has to do with your return. You see," he began to slowly pace in front of her, "like I told you before, I have decided that I no longer want to fight with my daughter. And so, with Levi's help, we are trying to gain back Morgan's trust. I now offer you the same chance that I offered to Tiffany. You may return to Morgan if you would like. I know that your transformation makes things a little more difficult, but I can fix that if you would like m-"

"You want me to leave...?" Ashley asked quietly.

He stopped pacing and slowly turned to her, trying to mask the emotions in his voice, "Only if that is what you want, my dear."

"And, what if I wish to remain here...?" she asked as she dropped her head to look at the floor, unsure of his answer.

He was instantly at her side, his hand under her chin gently pulling her face up to look him in the eyes, "Then you are free to stay for as long as you would like." The corners of his mouth curved into a smile, "We are always in need of followers-"

She pulled away from him. "Is that all I am to you?" she asked angrily, "I'm just a stupid follower?"

"I didn't say that," he said quietly. " You didn't let me finish... We are always in need of followers, but I am also in search for a new 'wife'," he paused, inhaled deeply and then continued, "I'm not sure how much you know about me. I don't know if Morgan ever talked to you about her father, but I'm not a very nice person. I have always felt the need to have a wife and the people I picked were always the most attractive of women I could find. Once I turned them I sent them on their way to change as many people as possible and they always ended up getting slain because I never taught them how to avoid slayers or how to protect themselves and I never tried to protect them. I know this sounds harsh, but I must say that even though they were called my wives, I never cared about them... I have not cared about anyone since Morgan's mother all those long years ago.

"Morgan was born special, she is the first in the entire history of our kind to be _born_ a vampire. And because of this she is immune to most things that we as vampires are weak to. I fell in love with her mother, Mina, who was human. There has never been a successful relationship between a vampire and a human; therefore, no one knew what was possible. Mina knew what I was and didn't care, and before too long she became pregnant. During that time getting pregnant out of wedlock was very deeply frowned upon and so, not fully understanding how this came to be, we ran away from her home. She was very excited about the baby but neither of us had any idea what to expect.

"Gestation was decreased with the baby. Instead of the normal nine months, Morgan was born in less than six. We were terrified, knowing that there was no way an average baby could survive being born that early, but she seemed completely healthy. She also had the diet of a normal newborn, and was therefore able to breastfeed. She actually didn't start showing any vampire traits till after she turned one. We were unable to keep pets because of this. She became quite the bitey one, although she never tried to bite her mother or I. Once we discovered that she was indeed half human-half vampire, Mina made me swear that I would transform her once Morgan was of age-back then of age being around twelve or thirteen.

"When she was changed, I swore to her and Morgan that I would never let anything ever happen to either of them. The first several years were amazing, we looked like any normal and happy family. My wife and my daughter were my everything; my beautiful Queen and my adorable Princess... but since the very beginning, there have always been slayers. Not long after the first four of five years a group of Slayers caught our trail. We ran, we went into hiding. We tried everything we could to lose them but nothing worked. One day, after almost a year of running from them, they caught up with us. I tried to distract them while Morgan and Mina got away but we were cornered..."

"Why didn't you just materialize away from them?" Ashley whispered.

"At that time, we did not realize that it was a power we were capable of. When I was with Morgan and Mina I did not feel the need or the want to be all-powerful or to fill this world with others infected by my disease. But when Mina was killed, Morgan instantly blamed me and told me that I didn't try hard enough to protect her mother. I lost both my wife and my daughter that day... I may not have lost my daughter physically, but after that day she was never in my life the same way again. I became so full of hatred for the humans that had taken my wife away from me that I then decided to dedicate my life to infecting as many of them as possible in the hopes of destroying the human race. Morgan didn't agree with this, of course, and it only made things between us worse. She found solace in the human friends that she was able to make and it upset me so much that I began to come up with excuses to destroy them.

"And that brings us to where we are now. I did the exact same thing to you, and I apologize... But I must say that the past couple weeks have been very different for me," he spoke as he slowly turned his back towards Ashley. "Being around you has caused me to feel very confused and vulnerable... I have not felt this way for anybody in over a thousand years..."

Ashley approached him and placed her hand on his shoulder, "What do you mean? What are you trying to say?"

"I believe I am falling in love with you," Vladimir whispered.

Ashley's face lit up at his words, a giant smile spreading across her lips. Without thinking she wrapped her arms around the tall man's waist, pulling him to her tightly and speaking quietly into his back, "I'm falling in love with you, too, Vladimir."

He pulled away enough so that he could turn and face her, his hands cupping her face, "I can't promise you anything, I don't know where these feelings might take me... Like I said before, the last person I loved was killed by slayers over a thousand years ago. I tried to protect her and I failed, which means that I could fail again. I will try to keep you safe, but you must learn how to take care of yourself as well..."

"I will, I promise," Ashley murmured.

Vladimir stood silently for a moment, his red eyes staring deeply into Ashley's, "...And I don't want you to go back to Morgan, but at the same time I am afraid to go to her and tell her that I want to keep you for my own. If you were any other person I would send you away, but I am too selfish of a creature to deny myself a person that makes me feel so close to human again..."

Ashley placed her hand on his cheek as she spoke, her voice sounding out low and soothing, "Shh, Vlad. I don't want to leave either; I won't leave you. I don't want Morgan to distrust you just because we made this decision to try to be together. We just have to prove to her that I am more to you than 'just another wife'; prove to her that your feelings for me are real. I doubt she'll have a problem believing that I am in love with you, but she will probably think you are just playing with my emotions or claiming me as a trophy to prove you've won against her. We just need to figure out how to prove her wrong..."

Vladimir sighed loudly, "We need to speak to Levi. He'll know what to do."

Ashley smiled at him, "You've really begun to trust him, haven't you?"

"I found that I had the urge to confide in him, but I was unsure of his trustworthiness. I knew he had passed his test, but I could tell how hard being away from Morgan was for him and I was waiting for him to finally break down and beg me to let him return to her. I eventually realized that that wasn't going to happen and felt reassured that he could become my confidant. He knows Morgan so well and I was losing the urge to fight with her. I miss my daughter and the relationship we used to have; it finally dawned on me that, after all these years, I had been doing everything the wrong way. I needed Levi to steer me in the right direction. I want him to fix this so that Morgan will realize that he did this because he loves her... I don't want him to lose her because of me," he ended in a whisper.

"She'll understand," Ashley reassured him, "I will make her understand."

"Let me retrieve Levi," Vladimir stated, pulling away from Ashley. She nodded at him and he disappeared into the attic. A few moments later he returned, Levi following closely behind him.

When they reached Ashley, Levi spoke, "What can I do for you, sir?"

Vladimir turned to him, "Ashley and I have spoken about many things, including the possibility of her return."

"It's not that I do not wish to return to Morgan, I miss her very much, but Vlad and I have realized that we both have feelings for each other and I do not want to miss out on the chance to see where this relationship might take us... I don't want to lose this chance to be happy," Ashley stated to Levi, Vladimir grasped and gently squeezed her hand reassuringly.

Levi smiled at them, glad to see that they were both happy. "Let me guess," he said with a cocky grin, "you need my help because you don't know how to go about telling Morgan that Ashley won't be returning to her because you've fallen in love with her. She's going to flip shit." He let out a short, harsh laugh.

Vladimir looked at him intensely, "If anyone can know how to approach her about this, it would be you Levi." He looked back at Ashley for a moment and then turned back to Levi, a look of utter desperation on his face, "I'm too selfish of a creature to lose a person that makes me feel like this."

Levi's mouth fell open in surprise at Vladimir's confession and he stood quietly for a moment, his mind deep in thought, "The best way to go about this would be for Ashley to come with me when I break the 'bad' news to her. It would be most ideal if both of you could be there, but I don't think she would react to kindly to Vladimir being in her presence. Ashley and I can go and tell her, and if she still has a hard time believing us by the time we have to leave, we could invite her to join us one night to watch how you two interact with each other. She may bring a friend for 'protection' if she would like, but seeing you two together maybe the only way to really convince her..."

Vladimir remained silent for several long moments, taking all of Levi's suggestions into consideration. Finally he spoke, "I fear you are correct Levi. I wish that I, too, were capable of going with you when you initially break the news to her, but you are right; she will not take kindly to my presence. I also fear that you are correct in the assumption that she will not fully believe anything you say until she can see how I act around Ashley. We will see how she responds during your visit and then we can decide what needs to happen after that."

"Sounds like a plan," Levi said as he smirked at Ashley.

"Agreed," Vladimir spoke, "Ashley, you and Levi will leave for Morgan's when night falls."


	24. History Revealed: Part II

Chapter Twenty-Four

History Revealed: Part II

The small group of vampires made their usual descent from the attic, Vladimir biding Ashley and Levi farewell at the cemetery's gate.

"You and Levi be safe, my dear," Vladimir spoke as he gently placed a kiss on Ashley's cheek.

"We will be," Ashley said, smiling up at him.

"I will protect her with my life, Vladimir. I swear to it," Levi said reassuringly.

"I know you will," Vladimir stated with a small smile.

Levi held out his arm and Ashley threaded hers through it as the couple headed away from the cemetery. Once they were several yards away Levi stopped walking and was preparing to materialize them to Ashley's apartment, when Ashley spoke up, "Do you think we could walk there? It's not that far away and we have all night..."

"Of course," Levi said, smiling down at her as they continued to walk in the direction of her apartment.

The pair was quiet for a long moment before Ashley broke the silence, "Levi, do you mind if I ask you a personal question?"

"You can ask me anything, Ashley," Levi said with a smile.

"Earlier, when Vladimir and I were talking, I was told a lot about his and Morgan's past. He also told me about Mina... Did you realize that Morgan was the only one of her kind? That she was _born_ a vampire?"

"I didn't know that when I first met her but as we grew up she finally confided in me about what she and her family were. I was terrified at first but not enough to make me leave her side. Even then I was already in love with her," Levi said quietly.

"He told me of their entire time together, but he never mentioned you... where do you fall into the story?"

Levi exhaled loudly, "Morgan and I were born about the same time. Her parents moved into a house down the street from my family's home/my father's workshop. Although her father was rarely seen, her mother quickly became friends with mine and that caused us to be forced together a lot. We became friends quickly and as we grew older, we became attached at the hip. When Morgan and I were about thirteen, her mother turned into a recluse like her father, but my family and I were still invited over to their house for dinner at least once a week and Morgan never faltered on her schedule of seeing me every day.

"Then one day, just a few days after she turned seventeen, she came to me and told me that she had to leave. Something terribly important had come up and she and her parents had to leave immediately and she had no idea when they would be able to come back. She bid me farewell, promising to return the first chance she got," his face fell and his voice cracked slightly. "I went an entire year without seeing her. Not a day went by that I didn't think about her. I missed her desperately, and every day I prayed that she would come back to me. One day my prayers were finally answered. She just appeared on my door step and she was more distraught then I had ever seen her before. Without thinking I wrapped her up in my arms and carrier her inside to rest.

"It was in the middle of the day and so I was momentarily home alone, and that was when she took the time to explain everything to me. She told me who her father was, what her mother had become and how she was special and unlike any other of her kind; and then she completely broke down and told me why she and her family had had to leave so suddenly and what had happened for her to be able to return. I was completely shocked and unsure of how to respond but mostly I felt the extreme need to just comfort her... her father returned that night, but it was obvious that things between them were never the same. Not long after I had turned eighteen she came to me and told me that she had to leave again. She had become completely disgusted with what her father had become after her mother had passed and that she couldn't stay with him anymore. She told me that she wanted a companion to travel with and asked me if I would go with her and said, that if I wanted her to, she would change me to be like her.

"I knew that if she was going to live forever I had to as well. I never wanted to leave her side and, not needing to actually think anything through, I agreed to leave with her. We left as the sun rose the next morning. And she waited to change me until we were far from our home country of Israel. We found an abandoned barn and spent several days there while I changed and became accustomed to my recent changes; Morgan began to discover that she was able to perform powers that she wasn't aware she was capable of, and we soon discovered that I was capable of them as well. That's when we learned we could materialize from place to place but only places we had already been too, which wasn't super helpful at the time.

"We were now forced to only travel by night and took advantage of our increased speed, and before we knew it we had traveled into Russia. We met Sasha there and not long after that he became one of us and we gained another companion. We traveled through Russia for quite awhile and finally Vladimir caught up with us, starting his plan for destroying Morgan's human friends. Then we went to Germany and found some more friends, but Vladimir followed after us again and destroyed more human friends. That was when we decided to flee to Japan, but once again he found us and more friends were destroyed.

"Eventually we made the journey to the New World and we've pretty much been on the east coast ever since. We met Kris shortly after first arriving at Ellis Island. It took longer to persuade her than it did Sasha but she eventually joined us and traveled with us. Vladimir had never been a fan of long distance travel by boat and so he left us alone for quite awhile. We headed in the direction of the Midwest when it became popular, but we never traveled any further than Chicago, and we finally decided that we liked New York City the most and so headed back- and that was where we stayed for a long time. Eventually a slayer discovered that the four of us were all living together and they began tracking us. That was when we realized that they couldn't track Morgan, they thought she was human. So we split up, leaving Morgan in out apartment and the rest of us going into hiding until the slayer lost our trails. that was this first time I ever left her side since we had run away together.

"I had to run and go into hiding for a collective of about fifteen years and by then New York City had changed so much and Morgan had moved somewhere new and so I was unable to find her, she was un-trackable. I never stopped searching for her though, and I was finally saved from my search the day you were stolen and she called for us."

"What do you mean she called for you?" Ashley asked curiously.

"As vampires, we can call our own kind to us. When we were together we created a specific kind of screech, I guess you can call it, that only we would recognize. This is also the only time you can materialize to a place you've never seen before. If the call is for you, you instantly see where the person who called you is standing and so you know exactly where you need to go. It's actually quite handy," Levi said with a smirk.

"Sounds like it," Ashley said, smiling back. "So you've been with Morgan since the very beginning?"

"Yup," Levi stated matter-of-factly, "quite literally the _very_ beginning."

The pair grew silent for a moment, Ashley letting everything he had just told her sink in. Levi stopped suddenly and looked up at the building they had stopped in front of. It was her apartment complex. She looked at the vampire standing next to her and spoke, "Are you ready for this?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," he stated as he exhaled loudly, then he reached for the door and opened it for them to walk through. They then hopped into the elevator and proceeded to head in the direction of Ashley's apartment.

They rode up to the ninth floor, stepping out of the elevator and turning in the direction of Apartment number 915. They paused in front of the door for a short moment and then Levi reached out to quietly knock on the door a few times.

This time, without hesitation, the door was opened by Sasha. "Good evening, Levi. So good to see you again," he sneered, "Who is your guest?"

"Sasha meet Ashley. Ashley meet Sasha."

Ashley reached out her hand and he shook it politely. "It's nice to meet you Sasha," she said giving him a charming smile.

When Ashley spoke, Morgan had peaked her head around the corner and gasped at what she saw. Unable to contain herself she rushed to Sasha's side and pushed him out of the way. "Are you really here?" she asked quietly.

Ashley detached herself from Levi and opened her arms widely for her friend. Morgan rushed into her arms. "Oh Morgan, it's so good to see you," Ashley said, squeezing her friend to her tightly, "I feel like I haven't seen you in ages."

Morgan pulled away from her friend slightly so she could look into her eyes and at the same time her hand came up and rested on Ashley's cheek. They stood there like that for a long silent moment, when Morgan finally pulled away in anger. She turned to Levi and spoke is a harsh whisper, "She's still a vampire! Why is she still a vampire?"

"Morgan," Ashley spoke quietly, "Levi and I are here to talk to you. Please hear what we have to say before you cast judgment on either of us."

She glared at Levi for another moment before grabbing Ashley's hand and pulling her all the way into the apartment. Ashley grabbed Levi's hand as well and the two were pulled into the living room. Levi sat down on the couch, in the exact same place he had the previous night with Tiffany. Ashley sat down next to him and gently squeezed his hand in silent support.

"Vladimir spoke to Ashley today about her options. He offered her the same luxury as Tiffany; a chance to be returned to her human form and returned to her home. They had a very long talk and a decision was made-"

Ashley cutoff Levi, "I want to stay a vampire... and I want to stay with Vlad..."

Morgan's eyes widened in shock, "Why? Why would you want to do that?"

"Levi said that Vlad and I had a long talk and we both realized something..." Ashley rose from her seat and approached Morgan, kneeling in front of her. "I'm falling in love with him, Morgan," she whispered, her eyes not meeting her friends'.

It took Morgan a moment to respond, but when she did she exploded, "What! How can you say that! He kidnapped you and change you against your will! How can you fall in love with that!"

"The feelings that I have for him have been building over the last week or so, and he told me a lot about his past this afternoon. He told me about you and your mother," Morgan stiffened at her words, "And he told me about the terrible thing that happened to her... I am so sorry that you lost your mother like that..."

A tear fell from Morgan's eye and she spoke quietly, "Please don't talk about her. I don't want to remember that day..."

"I think I might have a chance to truly be happy Morgan, and I don't want to lose it. He told me that he thinks he's falling in love with me too. You may not believe me, but you also weren't there to hear the emotions thick in his voice and you didn't see the way that he looked at me as he spoke..."

"She's right Morgan," Levi finally spoke up, "Your father wishes that he could have been here with us to break this news to you. He also doesn't want this decision to make you hate him even more. He told me himself that he wishes he could make Ashley return to you just to make you happy... but this is just as much her decision as it was his..."

"I don't believe you!" Morgan screamed, tearing herself away from Ashley. "He's tricking you, and he's toying with your emotions. He just wants to claim you as one of his wives because of what you mean to me. Ashley, you can't honestly believe that he really meant what he told you!"

"I do believe him, Morgan. He has never had a reason to lie to me before and I don't see why he would lie to me about something so important. Why would he tell me the truth about his history and then lie to me about his feelings? It doesn't sound like something he would do."

"You don't know him Ashley! You don't know what he became after my mother was killed!"

"But I do, Morgan. He told me that he was in search of a new wife and we have decided that I will take up that position. I don't want you to hate me for this decision, but you aren't going to get me to change my mind. He's going to teach me how to defend myself, and he promised to try his hardest to protect me. Levi has been helping me learn how to use my powers and I'm sure Vlad will help me with that now, too. And when I'm finally able to materialize properly, I promise to come visit you," she spoke, a small smile forming on her lips.

Levi stood and slowly approached Morgan, "There is something that you could do that might make you believe us."

"And what is that?" Morgan said harshly.

"If you wanted to, you and a friend could accompany us back to where we are staying and you could see for yourself the way Vladimir acts towards Ashley. I believe that seeing it for yourself may make it easier for you to believe that what we are telling you is the truth," Levi spoke softly.

"No freaking way. Besides, if he knows I'm going to be there then the way he acts could easily just be a lie."

"How about, on a night of your choice, I come and pick you up and take you to where we are staying and we can watch him from afar. He won't know you're there and therefore the way he acts can only be truthful. You won't be able to bring a friend this way, not if we're going to try to be sneaky but I swear on my life that you will not come to harm while you are with me," he said, strong emotions coursing through his tone.

Morgan stared at him intently for a long and silent moment. "Okay," she spoke, her voice a little weary, "So that it stays completely random, I will call you about an hour before sunset on the evening I want to go and you must be here at the apartment no later than two hours after sunset."

"I can handle that. I go out on my own most nights, so getting away from him without notice will be easy," he stated, a confident smirk on his lips.


	25. The Stakeout Part One

Chapter Twenty-Five

The Stakeout – Part One

Levi roughly ran his hand through his hair as he exhaled loudly. "What are you huffing about?" Ashley asked as she took a seat next to him on the attic floor.

"It's been two weeks, Ashley. TWO FUCKING WEEKS!" he said in a harsh whisper.

Ashley's smile faded, "she still hasn't called you yet?"

Levi huffed again, "Even if she had I couldn't tell you... but, no. She hasn't called for me yet."

Ashley sighed quietly and wrapped her arms around the vampire, resting her head on his shoulder, "She will, Levi. I bet she's doing this on purpose. She probably wants to try to catch you off guard."

"Well, it's not gonna work!... And she should know that too! She knows how impatient I am... you don't think that she'd just decide not to do it, do you?"

"Honestly, Levi," Ashley murmured, "I have no idea. But I hope that she wouldn't... we _both_ need her to do this."

"I know," Levi murmured.

XxX

Several days passed, and there was still no sign of Morgan's attempt to initiate the "stakeout."

Levi was becoming increasingly impatient, and began to pace as the day slowly dimmed and the impending sunset approached.

He was preparing to pivot into another lap across the room, when an image of Tiffany and Ashley's living room flickered across his field of vision, causing him to falter in his movements.

Ashley immediately noticed Levi's pause, "Levi, you okay?"

He spun around quickly, trying hard to fight the smile that wanted to spread across his face, "Yeah, I'm fine. Something just randomly crossed my mind- nothing important."

"O-kay...?" Ashley stuttered in confusion.

Levi immediately continued pacing as to not catch any other attention, and also continued to repress his grin.

Almost twenty minutes before it was time to head down towards the cemetery, Vladimir spoke, "Ashley?"

"Yes, Vlad?"

"I would like you to stay behind with me tonight so we can begin your training."

"Of course, Vlad," Ashley said with a smile.

"Levi, you may join us if you would like."

"I have a few errands to run, but perhaps after I am done," Levi stated.

"Of course," Vladimir responded with a slight smile.

Finally the sun set and the group of vampires made their short journey from the attic to the cemetery. Levi immediately split from the group, giving a small wave as he headed into the city.

He wanted to immediately materialize to the apartment, but didn't want to seem too "eager," so he decided that he could at least walk and could even take the long way around.

After almost forty-five minutes of walking, he was standing in front of his destination: Ashley and Tiffany's apartment complex. There was a part of him that was super excited that he was going to get to spend the entire night with Morgan, but another part of him was beyond nervous... He was really hoping everything would go smoothly and that maybe this interaction could even change _everything_...

He shook the thought from his head, not wanting to get too far ahead of himself. he took a deep breath and then headed through the entrance.

**XxX**

Morgan was waiting in one of the bedrooms in the apartment.

Kris was also there, trying to keep her calm, "Morgan, relax. He'll be here."

"It's been almost an hour, Kris. What if he doesn't show?" She rushed, as she paced in front of Kris.

"By the way you're acting it would seem like it actually matters. I thought you hated him for what he did?"

Morgan stopped dead in her tracks and turned towards the vampire. "Well, it doesn't matter," she stuttered quietly, "But he practically promised, didn't he? The Levi I knew would never break a promise..."

"You aren't worried at all?"

Morgan looked confused, "Why would I be?"

"Well, how do you know that it isn't an ambush? He could very easily have told your father what is happening and he could be leading you into a trap," Kris stated.

"So you don't think that I can take care of myself?" Morgan asked, raising her voice slightly. "Besides, why are you worried? It's obvious you still think that Levi's a "good guy," even after everything that has happened. You still treat him like your best friend."

"I'd say that I'm sorry, but I'm not. I refuse to give up on him when there is no actual proof that he has betrayed us," Kris stated.

"He took Alexander and let my father do God-knows-what to him! How does that not count as proof?"

"You know you're father better than I do, he probably threatened him by saying he'd kill him if he didn't do what he was told to do." Morgan's mouth opened quickly to most likely say something bitchy, but Kris interrupted her, "I'm not saying you have to agree with me, but you get the whole night to be with him, see what he personally has to say about it... albeit he probably won't be able to say a lot about what Vladimir has talked to him about, you can still talk to him about how _he_ feels..."

A soft knock sounded on the front door, and then Sasha's voice sounded out in a clear, "Welcome, Levi. Please come in."

Several moments later there was a knock on the bedroom door. "Our visitor is here," Sasha's voice sounded.

"Coming," Morgan hollered.

Kris appeared at her side and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "Breathe, and relax. Remember, it's just Levi."

Morgan took a deep breath and then the two women exited the bedroom together. "Hello, Levi," Kris spoke warmly. "How are you this evening?"

"Pretty good, actually," he stated, a large smile on his lips, "Thanks for asking." He then turned towards Morgan, "You ready to head out?"

"Yeah," she said through an exhale.

All of a sudden a set of strong arms wrapped around her middle. Alexander had appeared and he pulled her into a warm embrace. She turned to face him, and her lips formed a soft smile. "Leaving without saying goodbye, are you?" he asked with a chuckle. "Be careful," he stated more seriously this time, "I know you can take care of yourself, but don't be afraid to call if you need us."

"I will, I promise."

"Be safe," he whispered, then gently pressed his lips to her forehead.

Levi scowled and then, not-so-quietly, cleared his throat, causing Morgan to turn and glare at him and Kris to chuckle.

"We should leave," Levi spoke.

Morgan hugged Alexander once more before she pulled away and turned towards Levi, "Okay, lead the way."

XxX

They stepped out onto the sidewalk, cars rushing by them on the busy city streets. Morgan looked to Levi for what was going to happen next, but when he didn't move she spoke, "Are we going to go anywhere anytime soon? I was kinda hoping we would get this started right away."

Levi turned to face her a serious look on his face, "I am offering you a chance to see how your father has changed. Because of this you must be taken to where we have been hiding for the past few months. I would hope, that no matter what happens tonight, you would not use the knowledge of this location against us."

"What do you mean?" she whispered.

"If I take you there tonight, you must swear on your life that you will never attack us at that location."

"Levi..."

"Do you swear?" he spoke in a harsher voice this time. "I would hate to betray Vladimir's trust by allowing you this opportunity and then using it against us."

"You would hate to betray _Vladimir's trust_?" Morgan said, raising her voice, "What about _MY TRUST_?"

"We can talk about that tonight, if you would like... but for now I just need your promise."

Morgan paused, thinking, "I-I... I promise."

Levi's eyes brightened, and a small smile crept its way across his flawless lips, "Thank you. Now, would you like to walk there? Or would you prefer to materialize?"

"Is walking okay?"

"Walking is perfect," he spoke with a large smile.


End file.
